JeXAlvation
by LanaaLuthor
Summary: Four and last part in the series. A continuation of J e XMination when Jessica does not kill Lex. Jessica and Lex discover their love again. There is a serious threat coming from out of space. Also, the Earth is doomed. Plus surprise pairings!
1. Chapter 1

**Description: **Four and last part in the series. A continuation of _J e XMination _when Jessica does not kill Lex.

Jessica and Lex discover their love again. There is a serious threat coming from out of space. Also, the Earth is doomed.

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Promo 1:

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Youtube

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watch?v=i8MACx40fi8

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Promo 2:

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Youtube

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watch?v=2kY8WpAGhEg

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**Part 1**

"You can't possibly tell me you believe this fucking bastard!" Lex yelled to me. "You _love _me! No matter how evil I am! You love me! How can you not remember that?! How can you not feel it?! They did something to you too! I know it! The Locians did something to you too! And you know well that my father _did _give his fucking life for me! I can't die! You need to save me!"

"Shut up," Oliver said and then he handed me a knife. I grabbed it. It wasn't even my intention, but something inside of me did it like I had no control over my…

_No control over my brain, _I realized in horrification and nearly gasped. Lex was telling me the truth. There was a reason to why I didn't seem to love them both anymore. It wasn't only that mine Lex was gone. I still should've mourned him, felt the lost of him in my heart. Instead, it was like I was brainwashed. All numb and no feelings. My love for Lex was always unconditional, so why I was so eager to give up now? He would _never _give up on me like this if he was in my place.

The steel was cold in my hand.

"Stab me in the heart," Alexander asked. "It's my father's heart and I've always hated it. Since the moment I got it."

"Lex, I…" I stammered, sobbing.

"I love you. You need to do this. You know there is no other way," he kept on convincing me.

"I'll do it," Oliver volunteered. "I already have blood on my hands on the contrary to you and Clark," he told me. "I killed him once, I can kill him again."

"Jessica, please," Alexander asked me again.

"I saw what killing Lex did to you the first time, Oliver," I found myself speaking. "And I tried so hard to help you and yet, I couldn't. I will not watch that again. Killing him will not bring you peace. I know he murdered your family, but I want you to stay the Ollie I know."

"Kill the part that is my father and then I will die like I was supposed to. Remember? The only missing piece that prevented me from raising again was a heart," Alexander told me.

I nodded and kept crying. I held the knife in my shaky hand.

"I love you, Lex Luthor," I told him, but I didn't really feel this love at the moment. I loved the man that was already gone. Killed by Locians, not by me.

I bent down and I kissed him.

Then I put the knife to his chest.

I hesitated, remembering again what I had been thinking just a moment before like through a fog. Why was that?

I was looking into the blue-gray depths of the eyes I knew so well and loved so much. Yet in the same time, there was something different about the look in them, like it was impartial, changed. I knew the reason now, Lex was split, so he was not the Lex I knew. There was so much pain in those eyes. I knew he wanted an out, I knew he just wanted to be put to sleep forever so he could not remember what the evil him had done, but…

It was the easy way out. Should I just believe that there was absolutely _nothing _to be done to reverse this process? Maybe the solution did not exist… yet, but maybe it could be found somehow? I lived in the world full of wonders and supernatural. Why couldn't a cure be created? Lex had been put back together twice before…

Besides, Lex would never give up on his life and paradoxically, I started to believing the evil part of him. He had no reason to lie to me. He'd already been brutally honest with me when it came to Eve Tessmacher.

There was always a way out. Once kryptonite had done it. Other time Chloe…

Chloe, who was now dead. Killed by the evil Lex along with her and Ollie's child, Connor.

I closed my eyes, the knife was still put to Lex's chest, but I could not bring myself to stab him. Not just yet. I was fighting the strange fog that seemed to surround my mind at the moment.

I saw in my mind my first encounter with Lex. Id liked him from that very moment. I'd loved him too. It was love from the first sight and I could not deny it any longer. Id fallen for him and been loving him more and more for the next hundred plus years.

Why would I suddenly stop?

I remembered how I'd suffered, thinking he was dead and then how happy I'd been when he turned out to be very much alive.

I remembered our first kiss.

I remembered the moment he'd finally given up and instead of pushing me away to save me, he'd pulled me closer, made love to me.

I remembered how I'd lost our first baby, then lost herself and eventually him.

Then he'd come back to me.

_He had come back to me from the dead._

Right now he was split, his evil version screwing Eve Tessmacher, the good one loving me, but with no spark.

And what I had done? Was I any better than him? Didn't I hurt him just the same? I'd let Clark take advantage of me. I'd had sex with Clark.

Sure, killing the one true love I'd ever had would be simple. I would never have to tell him the truth. We would never have to deal with this mess. With him fucking Eve, with me fucking Clark, with him killing Chloe, Connor and Tess.

Only life was not supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be hard and messy.

And I loved this man, I realized with horrification, because I was so close to stabbing him in the heart. And there would be no coming back once I would kill him. Something was lifted from my mind when I kept on fighting it and then I felt it. I still _loved. _That knowledge nearly leveled me down and left my heart broken.

Who was I to kill the only man I'd ever truly loved anyway? He was gone now, true, but maybe he was just lost? Maybe I could still fix him? I loved him whole and I would make him whole again. I made the decision, now sure that Locians had done something to me too. To make it easier for me to let go. But I was stronger than that. Love was stronger than _anything_!

"Do it, Jessica, kill me," I heard him talking to me and his hands took mine, trying to push the knife into his chest. I could feel how fast his heart was beating, his chest raising heavily as he was breathing hard. He was afraid, terrified even, but still, he wouldn't stop. "I _need _to die," he emphasized.

I imagined myself actually doing it. Stabbing this body I loved so much and experienced so much pleasure from. Feeling his hot blood spilling on my hands and…

"NO!" I suddenly screamed in horror and pushed his hands away, throwing the knife far into the other corner of the room. "You came back from the dead for me! If that's not fate, then I don't know what is! We can't just throw it away! I love you, Lex, there's been only you and you know it! Dying would be the easy way out! You feel guilty for what your other half did and you think this will be a good punishment for you! Guess what? It won't! I won't let you die! It's always have been and will be you! You are my true and only! He was right!" I pointed at the evil Lex.

"Jess…" Oliver started, but I interrupted him right away.

"Don't you dare! This is my decision! You stay away from him!" I got up on my feet and covered Lex with my own body.

"I still have the other one," Oliver pointed the evil Lex who was held by Clark.

"No, you won't do this! You know I would hate you! Hell, I would kill you!" I screamed at him. "He was right, ok?! There was something wrong with me! I didn't love him, but now… now I do!" I couldn't believe how I could've ever forgotten that love. I felt it now in every fiber of my being, awakening me. Love for Lex was all I knew and wanted. "Locians must do something to me, but I broke through it! I did it just now, because love is stronger than anything!"

"But…"Oliver started and then finally, Clark cut in.

"Calm down! Both of you!" he roared and that caused me and Oliver to get quiet and look at him. "Jessica is right. It's her choice. Besides, we don't just give up on people! Oliver, it's true that he killed your wife, my best friend and your son and let's not forget about his own sister! But… this wasn't entirely Lex's fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the Locians! They did this to him! We've always known that Lex had a dark side, but we never gave up on people! _Never! _I thought I've taught you that!"

"What are you going to do with him? Hah? Lock him up? Maybe forever? Because he said it himself, _there is no cure_!" Oliver fought hard.

"Maybe he wants us to think that way," I suddenly realized. "There isn't now, but it can be. We can make it. I will not give up! We need to stop this madness of killing and just… come back to what used to be. We need to put him together. Don't you see it, Oliver? Locians are still trying to control us! They want us to live in chaos and fight each other! And we shouldn't! We should be united!"

"I agree," Clark said calmly.

"Well, you can put him together all right, but you can't bring back the dead!" Oliver yelled.

I started crying again, feeling helpless, fearing that Ollie might find a way and kill Lex anyway.

"Oliver, I am sorry. You know, I am… but…" I tried to speak to his mind.

"But you love him so damn much," Oliver scoffed. "You've always had and you never cared about the consequences! He shouldn't have been resurrected in the first place and you all know it! He said it himself!"

"In a crazy theory that might not even be true!" I told Oliver.

"You all know that he just said it so you would kill him," the evil Lex just spoke, his voice exasperated like he was tired of listening to us arguing. "And Jess, if you don't put us together, we can play all three, happened once before, didn't it?" he chose the worst possible moment to make that comment.

"You…!" Oliver started with a clear intention to go get the knife I'd dropped before, but Clark stopped him with one arm while he still held Lex with the other.

"Oliver, don't. Just… go… go and cool yourself down."

"Cool down?!"

"Just go!"

Oliver shot both Clark and me a full of resentment look and finally, he left.

"Baby, just remember that you will never love this weepy one here," the evil Lex pointed the other self that was still on the floor. "You need the both of us together, otherwise you can't love us and you know it. That means that I will still be a cold blooded killer." Why was he provoking us like that?! Maybe because he was smug that he'd won, I thought.

"Shut up!" I just told him. "Clark, just… could you please lock him up and make sure… that Ollie…" my voice trailed off.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone near Lex. No one will hurt him," Clark promised and then avoided looking into my eyes once again.

Now that we were almost alone in the room it was too awkward. What had happened between us… it shouldn't have happened.

How would we deal with it and when?

Well, clearly not now when there was still so much to do.

"I'll call Alex," I said. "Maybe he can help. He's been more often to JeXCorp than I was. Maybe he could find a way to reverse this."

* * *

_One month later_

"Mom, you do realize that we're the only ones left that believe he can be himself again," Alex turned to me.

We were near the JeXCorp's lab, checking up on the scientists working on Lex's case. We'd managed to retrieve a lot of Locians' official data and we hoped some of it could help. Emil Hamilton was the one in charge. It'd been very hard for me to ask him in particular for help and I'd felt like an awful person doing it, but he was the best. Luckily for me, Emil understood the situation even better than Clark did and certainly so much better than Oliver. He agreed, explaining to me that every single person had two sides, the good one and the bad one and they were constantly balancing each other. Even the purest person in the world was built that way and he told me that if it'd been any one of us split, then we would've done the exact same thing Lex had. We would've gone off on a killing and cheating spree. This theory eventually calmed Oliver down, but he still had a resentment toward Lex. It would probably always be there as it had in the past. Some conflicts that had their beginning in childhood were never really meant to go away because they were rooted too deeply into a person.

What concerned me right now was my own behavior. Lex had an explanation to why he'd slept with Eve. I did not to why I'd had sex with Clark. I wish I could just pin the blame on the Locians, but back there I'd still had my own common sense. I'd known what was right and wrong. I'd just been lonely and desperate and hurt. I'd thought the love that I'd believed to be the strongest one, that could survive everything, just… crumbled, went away. I'd thought things between me and Lex had been over forever. How could've I known that he'd not been the Lex I'd fallen for? Still, that did not make it all right to sleep with another man, especially while he was married. I was a monster. I was a whore. I'd done it all once before, but back then I hadn't put much thought to it since Lex had actually been dead. I'd had no way of knowing he would be back. Now…

I just sighed heavily. I couldn't let him die. He could hate me later, but I would not let him die. I would make sure our love would last forever, even if only on my part.

"I do realize," I finally answered my son. "But Alex… we can't lose hope. Not ever." I looked into the lab through the glass door and saw Emil working hard like always. "I feel so sorry for him…"

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault and you couldn't have done anything, mom," Alex comforted me. "He understands how all of this works."

"When he discovered the truth about Lex, he didn't think we could reverse the process," I noticed.

"That was the grief talking," Alex assured me. "He can reverse it alright, just trust me."

"I hope so. I don't know what I'll do if…"

"Mom, it'll be alright. Dad will come back to us and you will be able to come back to… you know…" his voice trailed off significantly.

"To what?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Screwing around?"

"Alex!"

"What? We all know you do it more often than normal parents should."

"When those parents can live forever, they have more strength to… oh, for a god's sake! You're a grown up! Get over it!" I scolded him and actually laughed.

"I haven't seen you laugh like this for a long time now," Alex noticed and smiled to me. "It's good to see it."

"I will laugh more often once your dad's back, I promise. Now, about the other thing, can I count on a daughter in law?" I asked teasingly.

"Mom, it's all still very fresh between me and Imra…" Alex started explaining himself, but it did not miss my attention that he also started blushing.

"Uhm… you know, those red hair might be dark but those genes of yours still make your face burn in all the least wanted moments."

"Damn it! Why couldn't one of you be a brunette for a change?" Alex asked, clearly indicating that both I and Lex had natural red hair. "What kind of genes have you two given me anyway?!"

"You should be happy that your hair is not bright orange," I teased him again. "And I let you know that I'm very proud of what I and your father produced."

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**AN: **You can also read a less serious alternative ending to this when going to my story _**JeX - Alternative Ending**_  
I wrote this "how Lex lived" before I came up with the idea for JeXAlvation


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

I didn't remember when was the last time I was running so fast. It was very hard when wearing high heels.

I was sprinting through JeXCorp's corridor on one of the lowest levels. One that had the best security. Even Superman would have difficulties in entering it as every wall and floor was made out of lead. We would never be so cruel with Lex to actually kryptonite-proof it, but all the other precautions were fair game. I nearly slipped on the sleek floor when I took a turn into the right corner and suddenly, there was a strong pair of hands holding me up.

"Mom, be careful," Alex scolded me like I was his child and not the other way around.

I shot him a look in response.

"I'm just saying," he raised his hands, "one of those days you slip and end up in a coma."

"We're too advanced as a society to stay in a coma for more than a week, Alex," I said. "Where's Emil? He called and said that he can do it. He can make Lex whole again," my voice wavered, both from fear and happiness.

"He can," Alex confirmed. "I just got here. They're transferring… dads…" he hesitated before saying that, "to the lab and then they'll do it."

I released a huge breath of relief and then, suddenly, I was overtaken by panic.

"Mom, are you feeling all right?" Alex made sure.

It was not even all those things Lex might or might not remember and I would have to be the one to break it to him. It was what I'd done. That was the worst part.

"I nearly gave up on him, Alex. I nearly killed him. I feel terrible. I feel… like I betrayed him somehow," I confessed, pushing the thoughts of my cheating aside.

"But you didn't kill him," Alex said to me when placing his hands on my shoulders. "You believed he could be helped and now… we will help him."

"I wish I could tell you that the possibility of killing him never even crossed my mind… I…"

"Shh… I know that he can be very persuasive and that when being split he wasn't the same man you loved. Hell, if I saw him then, he probably wouldn't be the father I would like to have and the father I could love either. The important part is that he will be all right and we will be a family again."

"I nearly forgot all those obstacles we had to overcome in the past," I admitted. "Before you were even born."

"But you did remember them just in time. I never doubted, even for a moment, that you could actually go through with stabbing him, so don't worry. I also think it's gonna be the last thing on dad's mind when he's back to himself."

I sighed heavily. "Yeah… tell me about it."

Alex had no idea that I was the guilty party in cheating too. No one knew that except me and Clark and although it would be so easy to just let it be buried… no, maybe it wouldn't, I changed my mind. Maybe it would just make me rot from the inside. Secrets were hard to bear alone. And in my marriage there was no room for them. I needed to be honest with my husband. I owed him at least that much.

"Mom! Alex!" Lily got to us with Imra. "Is he going to be ok?"

"We don't know yet, honey, but Emil says he has a cure."

"Now that you're all here," Emil came out of the lab like he knew somehow that we were talking about him. "I will use high radiation mixed with what I managed to salvage from a meteor rock and…"

"Wait, a meteor rock?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I took the blue one from Clark and Lois. I studied it hard, but eventually I managed to create what we were looking for," he explained.

"And the radiation? Will it hurt him?" I asked.

"Technically, yes, without the VA it would kill him within a week, but don't worry. The VA can heal it on the spot and he'll be just fine," Emil assured us.

"Emil, I have no words to actually…" I started.

"Don't mention it." He waved his hand. "Shall we?" He opened the lab door for us.

"But… Emil, I…" I started again, desperate to find the right words to apologize to him for what he'd been through.

"Jessica, it's in the past, all right? I know the Lex we all know, in some cases love, in some others like, was not the Lex who murdered Tess. I also accepted that it was the Locians' fault."

"I just want you to know that if you ever need anything… just ask."

"I will probably take you up on that when my founds for research dwindles," Emil answered and we finally entered the lab.

Two Lexs were in the huge glass box prepared for experiments. One of them was cuffed, so I could easily tell that it was the evil part. The good one was just simply looking into the distance like he didn't even see anything concrete in there.

"Are you ready?" Emil spoke to the mike. "Shall we start?"

"Don't start on my account. I'm good!" the evil Lex yelled. "Wish I could just get out of here and…"

"Don't you want to be whole again?" I asked.

"So I could have this weepy and soft side of me back? Nope, thank you very much."

"That side also has all your morals," I reminded in a hard and hurt in the same time voice.

"Mom," Alex whispered to me. "It's not worth it. He'll just keep hurting you."

"I am in love with you, Jessica, even without that part," he said again when pointing his other self. "Oh, right, the Eve thing… you see… if you got me some at home… how long it's been? How long have we been separated? And for what?"

"Lex, just stop it!" I yelled at him, forcing the images of him fucking Eve out of my mind once again. I was no better though, I reminded myself to both ease the pain and feel the guilt. I'd fucked Clark. And I had no excuse for it.

"Let's just precede," Emil said and I was very happy with that decision.

He pulled a lever on his right and then typed something on the dashboard.

Suddenly, there was a hiss and I saw bright light illuminating in the glass box. It was white, then changed into green and blue. Two Lexs were soon covered with a mist that had the same color the light did and then… it just cleared out, leaving a single person lying on the floor, unconscious.

I had tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe he… My heart was swelling with love and longing. In a moment I could hold him in my arms again. In a moment we could be together again.

"Lex!" I yelled and ran toward the box, but it was still locked.

"Just a sec…" Emil said and pushed some other button. "It will disinfect him… all right, now you can go in."

I opened the door and went inside, immediately crouching by the man I loved. The only one I'd ever loved. My heart was singing. I got him back.

I touched his cheek and turned his face gently to me, but he still wasn't waking up.

"It'll take a while," Emil notified. "He was exposed to a high level of radiation and now…" He made his way to use with a syringe in his hand, "I will inject the VA to his system… Here, all done. He should wake up in a few hours."

"Few hours?" I asked. "The way I remember it…"

"This is different, Jessica. I can call for some people that will transfer him to the mansion if you like that more."

"It's a good idea. He'll feel better at home," I agreed.

"Mom, I think we should just go and give you two some privacy," Lily said when coming closer with Alex and Imra.

"Yeah, you should be the only one there once he wakes up. We can come by later. I think you need to explain him some things first. And… maybe he wouldn't want us there once he… you know.."

Once he found out.

It did seem right. It was the right thing to do, but in the same time scary. I was scared of the truth.

"Ok," I agreed. "Let's take him home."

* * *

Exactly three hours has passed since the procedure. Three hours and Lex's body finally stirred and then I saw his lids raising up, showing his blue-gray eyes. They were a little confused, but they were the exact same eyes I loved. There was nothing out of place in there anymore.

"Lex?" I asked gently when sitting in a chair. My heart beating too fast for it to be healthy.

He was lying on our sofa in the mansion's study. I figured it would be the best place to wake up in. Bedroom didn't seem right as it was too close to the bed and I still had so much to tell him. Things I would rather not, but… I had too. I owed him the truth.

He blinked a few times and then grunted. It was like he was in pain.

"Lex? Are you all right?" I made sure, my voice worried.

_ Blood. Blood in front of his eyes. His hands full of blood… Who… He stabbed her. He stabbed his sister. Tess is lying dead on the floor in the pool of blood and he… _likes _it. He likes that kind of a power over a person. A power to take someone's life._

_ Bullet. One… Two… Two dead bodies. Oliver had it coming. He should have stopped loving his wife… Jessica is only his… Chloe deserved to die… Connor… wrong place in the wrong time…_

_ Breasts. Fake breasts that belonged to Eve Tessmacher. Her naked body next to his… her hands…_

"GOD!" Lex roared, sitting up and putting his hands to his head, his face wincing in pain. "God, no!" He fought hard to throw those images out of his mind.

"Lex!" I was terrified. "Lex, are you hurt? Is something causing you pain?" I jumped out of my sit and was sitting right next to him now, putting my hands on his arms.

"No…" he answered, this time in a silent voice and finally, he raised his head and our eyes met.

"Are you back? Is this really you?" I asked again when looking deep into pupils.

"Yes," the answer came and I couldn't stop myself. I grabbed his face and I kissed him. It was all there. The feeling I always had when I felt his lips next to mine. It was love. It was passion. The beginning of something exciting. His taste. His smell. It all invaded my senses and I savored it. I had him back. I loved again. The world seemed beautiful again.

Then I reminded myself that I wasn't here to have my wicked way with him, no matter how much my body seemed to want it.

I stopped kissing him and he didn't oppose.

I met the same haunted, full of pain eyes that must've reflected my own now.

"Did I do all of this?" he just asked me.

The smile disappeared from my face.

"What do you remember exactly?" I asked, pulling away slightly and sitting more comfortably on the sofa.

"I just see bits and pieces, but… it's enough for me to know… I… I killed… there was my sister and Chloe and… Connor and… Eve Tessmacher?" Lex frowned.

"You did not kill Eve Tessmacher," I answered in a hard voice.

"I know. I did so much worse… to you," he confessed, suddenly avoiding looking at me. I could tell he hated himself for that one. Maybe even more than for the killing part and I knew I should be worried, but that was just Lex. I could either accept that darkness that would always be there or let him go forever. I couldn't do the latter.

"Well, to her it must be paradise. She said so herself," I notified him bitterly. I didn't mean to be hard on him, but I just couldn't help it, even when I knew it wasn't really his fault. Not his Lex's.

"Why didn't you kill me?" he asked, looking at me again from aside. "Why any of them didn't kill me?"

"Because I love you," I simply said, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "I love you too much to ever let you choose the easy way out by dying and leaving me on this Earth alone. I still need you. I will _always _need you. Our kids need you too. Forever. The Locians did something to me, they wanted me to hate you, but… love is stronger than that. It will always be stronger." The enormosity of my love for him still surprised even me after all those years.

"But what I've done…" He turned his head, his eyes now looking in front of him, avoiding mine. "How could have I?" he asked into the distance and released my hand.

"It wasn't you," I said. "Even Emil said so."

"God, Emil… Oliver… what I…"

"Lex, stop, please," I placed my hand on his cheek and forced him to look at me again. "You need to listen to me. I need to tell you what really happened."

"I always knew you were strong," he said, ignoring what I told him. "You didn't kill me like you were supposed to… You always loved me. No matter what."

"I wouldn't put it like this," I said, suddenly looking down. "Lex, I don't deserve any of what you're saying to me."

"Why?" he just asked.

* * *

"It is the truth, Lex. Even Emil said so and believe me, he had no reason to protect you. It wasn't you. Not really."

"But it was," Lex still denied.

"This is the way we're all built," I said. "If that happened to Clark… he could do even worse things when considering his powers."

"But it happened to me. It always seems to be happening to me. Why is that? Am I evil at my core, Jessica? Maybe I am and I just refuse to admit it… I hurt you. I hurt so many people and…" he started again.

"It wasn't you!" I raised my voice, interrupting him. "And if you need another proof, something else than Emil's scientific explanation… here's one! I didn't love you when you were split! I couldn't love any of you! You think once a person changes, the love should stay, but… it was wrong, it seemed wrong and… I can't explain it! Half of you doesn't make you… you! Only the whole thing does! When you change as a whole, then it's alright. We can't be just half's of what we are."

"Still, I have so much making up to do! And I wouldn't blame you if you wouldn't let me touch you ever again."

"Are you kidding me? I am dying to touch you! But wait…" I said and closed my eyes, because there was something in his eyes that… No, I couldn't go there. Not until he knew the whole truth. "Lex, there is something I need to tell you before we take this any further. After that you might not want to touch me, because this will hurt you."

"What do you mean?" he asks, turning to me as he was standing now, walking around the study for the past few minutes.

I stood up as well and faced him bravely.

"There's something I… I did when we were separated… I…" I sighed. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I don't want to explain myself or make excuses for what I've done, but… know that I was lonely. I thought that our big love finally ended forever while it lasted for so… I thought I would never have this back and I would need to fill that eternal life of mine with something… I didn't know what. I was lonely and I was desperate and… that was when Clark visited me."

"Clark?" Lex asked, frowning. There was a warning in his voice like he already knew what I was going to say. "No, don't tell me that…"

Tears appears in my eyes when I looked into his, but I went on nevertheless.

"I'll understand if you hate me forever. I deserve it. I will bear it. I just need to be honest with you… He… kissed me, then kind of pushed me against… we had sex," I finally finished. There was no need for details.

"You had… _what_?!" Lex suddenly exclaimed and then he closed his eyes and turned around, so now I only saw his back. A very strained back. Very clenched fists too.

"He threw himself at you," Lex said, his voice strangely quiet and strangely calm, but I knew him all too well as not to recognize this mask.

"Maybe… but I… I was willing… I… I let him…" I sobbed. My heart was bleeding. At least it felt like that. I discovered that I'd rather be cheated on then be the one doing the cheating. The second, strangely, felt so much worse. I loved Lex all too much to see him hurt like this. To see him hurt because of something I'd done. I'd rather forgive than hurt, I decided. "You need to know it was a moment of weakness. I love _you, _Lex. I's always been and will be _you_," I assured him and didn't even know why. It wouldn't change anything.

"I remember what you said to me when you were about to kill me. Maybe you should have," he spoke.

"How can you say that?! You're back together! I would've never forgiven myself if I'd killed you!"

"Sure you wouldn't have, but Oliver Queen wanted me dead way too much. I wouldn't be surprised if he convinced you or kill me himself. Of course, there was also Clark. The noble Clark who would never take a life nor let someone he _loves _take it," Lex finished, his voice full of venom as he finally turned back to me. His face was stripped of it all. There was nothing on it. It was just… blank. And I knew it was the worst kind of expression on him, because he was stifling inside what he really felt.

"Lex, I am so… so sorry…" I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop apologizing to him either.

"It's not your fault," he said to my astonishment and then his arms were around me and he was hugging me and I was sobbing into his shirt.

"How… how can you say that?" I asked, truly stupefied.

"You were right, I did push you away. I wasn't myself. Then I was split and I killed…" he stopped, took a deep breath like he was forcing that problems away just to focus on this one at hand, "I do not blame you for letting him comfort you. I blame him for that!"

"Lex, he's just as much to blame as I am!" I pulled away, looking at his face again.

"Yes, but were you the one to kiss him?" he asked.

"No."

"Was he having problems? Was he lonely?"

"Actually…" I started.

"The correct answer is that he did not. His wife was still there for him whereas I was not for you. So what that he refused to sleep with her because she wanted to have an army of superbabies? So, what?!" Lex raised his voice in anger and I shook even though I had nothing to be afraid of. "He should have handled it like a man and fixed the problem! They shouldn't have hid from it, they should have fucking talked it through!"

"Lex…" I said his name. He was scaring me now. I was afraid of what he might do… But what could he do, really? Clark was invincible.

"He used _my _wife! Because he wanted sex! Pathetic! Backstabbing, conniving son of…"

"Lex!"

"Do you think I would be able to do the same to him?! Could I just seduce his wife?! No! Friends don't do that!"

Actually, I didn't think Lois would be so easy to seduce. What was that saying about me, exactly? Or was she easy? I didn't know her from that side, but I somehow knew that she wasn't. She would be faithful to Clark.

"He betrayed Lois! He betrayed our friendship! He was always in love with you! Queen too! I just knew it!" Lex kept on yelling.

"Lex, stop!" I screamed now too. He was really starting to scare me.

"I'll kill that bastard!" he finished and just… left.

"Lex, no! Wait! LEX!" It was too late though. Before I got to him, he was already driving away in his Porsche. I had an inkling of to where. And it was not good…


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

_Lex_

Lex got out of his car. He realized that in a moment of rage he'd taken his vintage vehicle instead of what was more green - a shuttle. But it was done now. And he had more important things to worry about than the mean of his transportation.

He got to the front door of Clark and Lois's house and kicked them open, stepping inside. The blood in his veins was boiling as he felt pure rage. He didn't remember when was the last time he'd been so angry. Years? Maybe a whole century ago? Maybe the last time Clark had betrayed him?

"Lex?! What the…" Clark started when coming into the hall, probably disturbed by the break-in. He didn't finish his question, because Lex unceremoniously took a swing of his arm and hit him in the face as hard as he could.

Clark fell down to the floor, his hand going up to cover the injured cheek and split lip from which blood was already pouring.

"Lex… wh…" he mumbled.

Lex just raised his hand so Clark could see the blue rock in it.

"Lex, just… calm down…" Clark finally managed to say and tried to stand up, but Lex stopped him again by kicking him in the guts. There was a moan of pain coming from Clark's mouth.

"Calm down?!" Lex roared. "Don't tell me to calm the fuck down! Do you have _any idea _what you did to my wife?!"

"Lex! What the hell are you doing?!" Lois came running and she immediately got down to check up on her husband. "Didn't it work?" she asked in confusion.

"Lois, it did," Clark said, sputtering blood. "This is Lex." He looked at his wife. His lips were full of blood, his cheek and eye already swollen, but nothing could disguise the guilt that was already there. Lex finally felt some satisfaction. Clark clearly knew what this was all about.

"But I don't… I don't understand," Lois stammered, wiping the blood from Clark's face with the sleeve of a sweater she had on. "Why?" She stood up, helping Clark and then looking at Lex.

"Why don't you just ask your beloved husband?" Lex said. "After all, he was the one who seduced _my wife_ when she was at her lowest. I know I left, but I was already split. This bastard used the opportunity and threw himself at Jessica!" Lex pointed Clark. "God, I wish I had a fucking green rock, but no, I had to get rid of every fucking one of them just to help you, Clark! And for what?! So you could screw my wife behind my back?!" he roared, nearly sputtering with anger.

"No!" Lois yelled and made a step back when covering her mouth with her hands, her head shaking. She let Clark go and he staggered but managed to keep his balance eventually. "Tell me it's not true!" she demanded of him.

Clark looked at her, but couldn't say anything. He hated himself. There was so much self-loathing on his face at the moment that Lois's eyes filled with tears and her head shook once again like she still didn't want to believe the truth.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Lois," Lex turned to her, his voice softening a little as he was addressing her now. "But I thought you deserved to know. You deserve to you know what kind of a husband you have. I would _never _do anything like that, Clark," Lex tuned back to his, evidently, ex-friend now. "Hell, even Queen wouldn't! And I know he's always had the hots for my wife! I thought we were friends! But friends do not sleep with each other's wives! Do they?!"

"I'm sorry," Clark simply apologized.

"Oh, what was that?" Lex pretended not to hear him.

"I'm sorry, all right?! I am! I am so, so sorry!" Clark looked briefly at Lois, but she was so hurt that he couldn't stand to see the pain on her face. "It was a moment of weakness! I and Lois haven't been sleeping together and…"

"How dare you?" Lois spat, her voice hard, unyielding and gull of venom. "How _dare you_? I love you! Maybe I should've said: I loved you, because hell if I don't hate you right now! You should've talked to me! You should've convinced me to pick up my career again and not to have your children! You think it was easy for me to suggest that?! All I ever wanted to do was to help you, you bastard!"

"Lois, this was just one time thing… I came to Jess to talk…" he started explaining himself frantically.

"Because you couldn't talk to me?!"

"She always understood… oh, wait, that's not what I wanted to say… I…"

"It's exactly what you wanted to say!" Lois finally screamed. "God, Lex's right! It's always been her! You love _her_! Not me! You married me, but if you could've had her…"

"I chose YOU!" Clark roared. "When we got married, Jess was single and I still chose _YOU!"_

"She might've been single, but there was only one man in her heart. There's always been! And that man is not you!" Lois screamed back at her husband.

"Lois, I'm really sorry!"

"I want to know the whole truth," she said, folding her arms on her chest. She was shaking and her eyes were red from crying, but she was strong, she held on. "Why did you do this? Did you enjoy it? Was she better than me?"

"Wow, Lois, I…" Lex started, raising his hands, but Clark interrupted him.

"I did this because I was stupid. I was lonely and horny. We hadn't had sex for almost a year, Lois. And she was lonely too. She seemed to understand me since she'd known me before I met you and… I don't know… It just happened."

"Did you enjoy it?" Lois prompted.

"Every man enjoy every kind of sex," the ambiguous answer came.

Lex actually laughed. Like a crazy man.

"Are you serious? Is that how you keep evading all the answers?!" he asked.

"I was out of control and I hurt her, ok?!" Clark yelled. "And she liked it, Lex!"

That was a mistake from Clark's part, because Lex hit him again, getting his skin off the other cheek with the meteor rock.

"You will never come near my wife or my family ever again. If you do, I will fucking kill you, do you understand?!" he made sure.

"Lex…"

"Do you understand?!" Lex roared.

"Yes," Clark finally said and lowered his eyes to the floor.

Just now they heard Lara screaming.

"Look what you've done," Lois said and went to her baby.

"Lex… I… I am sorry," Clark tried again before Lex left.

"Sorry won't make it right. You used my wife when I was still married to her and I loved her. You knew how much she meant to me, Clark. She's the dearest…" Lex stopped, closing his eyes and shaking his head. The rage was coming off of him. He found an outlet. He could finally breathe and face Jessica again. "She would never go for it if she didn't lose me again, I know that, but still… you should've known better. You were always the noble one, Clark. What happened? How could you just hurt Lois like that?" Lex actually turned to look into Clark's eyes.

"I don't know," Clark only mumbled. "I just… don't know. I…" His knees hit the floor as his weight gave up. He had no strength left in him and something told Lex that it had nothing to do with the kryptonite. "It was like I was out of control…"

"I think my work here is done," Lex spoke and finally, he left.

* * *

_Jessica_

"Lex!" I jumped to my feet once he came back. I'd been waiting for him in the study for lack of a better idea.

He crossed the threshold, but then he just stopped there and looked at me.

"What did you do?" I asked, fear raising inside me again.

"I paid Clark a well-deserved visit," Lex just said, then he finally moved, walked over to his liquor cabinet and pulled himself a large glass full of scotch, then gulped it all at once.

I was actually afraid to go near him. Everything inside me was screaming at me to touch him, to kiss him, to feel his body next to mine, to strip him off his clothes and just let him take me, but… how would he react? Would he push me away? I wouldn't survive that. I'd rather stay when I was.

"What did you do to him?" I asked instead of acting.

"Nothing that won't heal, sadly," Lex answered and finally turned to me. "I'm pretty sure the couple that was the destined one will shutter."

"You told Lois," I realized. "Why? You know what that will do to their marriage."

"Their marriage was already weak, besides, I think she deserves to know."

"Lex, I…" I started, made a step toward him and stopped altogether. "I am sorry," I finally finished.

"I don't blame you," he simply said and that surprised me completely. He'd said it already, but I still wasn't sure if he truly meant it. "I know that if I was myself, you would never go for it. All this time I was obsessing about Queen and…" He shook his head, putting the empty glass back on the table. "The biggest threat was right there in the person of Clark. Who would've thought?"

"You shouldn't have gone over there like that. You were angry and they have a baby there," I told him what was on my mind.

"What do you want me to say?" Lex asked, spreading his hands. "I am a Luthor. What did you expect me to do? You expected that I would do nothing about it? I'm territorial and I protect what's mine."

"Maybe you should punish me too," I dared say. I didn't know why I was basically asking him to.

"I would never do that. I love you and that will never change. If you can forgive me for everything I have done… even if while not being myself… then I can forgive you this. I certainly slept…" He winced in visible disgust. "My other half certainly slept with Eve more than once."

"I know," I admitted. "Why else would she say to me that you two had an affair and were in love?"

"I would never stop loving you. What more, how could have I gone after somebody so fake like Eve Tessmacher?"

"To hurt me for not getting it at home. That was what the evil you said to me," I explained, fighting tears once again.

"Can we just try to move on?" he asked powerlessly, the tension slowly escaping him, I could tell. "There's nothing we can do about it all now and as much as Clark caused me to temporary forget all those awful things I've done… now it's all back when I'm calmer. Jessica, you can't imagine the guilt I'm feeling. It's killing me." He was the one to come to me and now his hands were running over my arms up and down.

I closed my eyes.

"I feel guilty too. Trust me."

"Let's try to forget… we need to learn how to live with it anyway," he whispered and then his lips were on mine, his tongue prodding until I opened to let him in and plunder the inside of my mouth. I moaned as he stroke my tongue with his and then sucked on it. I moaned lauder when his hands ran down my back and then up my belly to cup and massage my breasts. His cock was already hard and I could feel it against me.

"I need you… god knows how much I need you…" Lex rasped into my ear when he preceded to biting on my earlobe.

"Me too…" I gasped, grabbed the lapels of his suit and took it off him, then took the shirt out of his pants and ripped it open, touching his smooth and muscular chest.

In the same time he was busy with undressing me and although I was caressing his body, he still managed to take off my shirt and my bra, his hands were now covering my bare breasts and driving me crazy when he was twirling my nipples between his fingers.

He stopped and sucked in a breath when I finally got to freeing and stroking his cock.

Suddenly, he grabbed me and swirled me around, pushing me on his desk until I sat on it. He undid my jeans and took it off as fast as he could, then ripped my panties off and after feeling if I was ready, he shoved his cock inside, grunting with pleasure.

My mouth opened, my head tilted back as I took in the feeling. I needed this so much. Too much. He was back. Mine Lex was back and everything about what he was doing was familiar and yet, so exciting. The Lex I'd been with after I'd been with Clark was not this Lex. And with Clark… I knew now that it was only to feel close to someone, to fill something besides emptiness. There had been nothing deep in that.

In this, even if it turned out to be a hard fuck on the wooden desk, was everything. There was love, there was passion, there was devotion.

Lex kept slamming his hips against mine, his cock going hard in and out, all the way, hitting all the right places, stroking my insides.

"Only you…" he grunted and kissed me again, although a little clumsily. I loved that kisses too. We were so out of control during sex, but still, we needed to feel our lips against each other, tongue stroking tongue.

Lex speeded up, fucking me harder, changing the angle and I let go, my back went backwards and I was lying down on his desk, completely naked, his hands holding my hips in place as he kept slamming into me.

There it was, stronger than anything else. I screamed as I felt the orgasm that ripped through my insides. Then I heard a roar coming from Lex's throat and I felt him coming too, spilling his hot seed inside me.

"Only mine forever," he said, collapsing into my open arms. His chest covered in sweat was now raising and falling against mine, grazing my sensitize nipples.

"Yes, yours… I promise," I answered.

* * *

It was the middle of the night and we were both in bed. Lex was already asleep, but somehow I couldn't follow him. He held me in his arms and I watched his face. I loved it when he was sleeping, because there was no single worry on it. He was calm, peaceful, not haunted by what he'd done.

I loved him. I was sure of it. It was undoubtedly a true love, an unconditional one. I knew he would never be entirely good or pure, but I accepted it. I loved him the way he was. He was so passionate that I could live with that bad side of him too. I also had one, I was sure of it now. We all had. Even Clark. Why else would have he kissed me and more the other night?

Lex would never cheat on me on purpose, he would never do it while I… I'd done it to him. The only consolation for me was that I hadn't really loved him back there, because it hadn't been him. I knew if it'd been him, I would've pushed Clark away and probably slapped him in the face. I loved Lex even more for the fact that he'd known it all before even I had. He understood the circumstances. Also, I needed to remember that even if I knew the evil side of him well, there was also the good one there. The one that loved me unconditionally too.

I was so in love with him and damn me if I ever let him go. I wouldn't survive that.

I needed to learn how to live with the consequences of all that had happened. I needed to be by Lex's side even if it meant losing everyone else in my life.

Finally, with that knowledge, I fell asleep…

…only to be woken up a few hours later by Lex himself.

He suddenly sat up in bed, pushing me aside and screaming, "No!"

"Lex?" I asked, blinking a few times. "Lex, what is it?" I put my hand on his arm.

"I… I just… Nothing…" he finally breathed and lay back down next to me.

"Lex, you're all wet," I noticed when I snuggled up into him again. He was all sweaty. "Did you have a nightmare?" I asked.

"Yes, actually, I did," he admitted, holding me close. "I… I dreamt of Tess… there was so much blood… and then… I saw Chloe and Connor and… our daughter, she hated me for taking him away from her."

"Lily knows what really happened. She doesn't blame you anymore. No one does, Lex. It was the Locians' fault," I assured him.

"But that fact doesn't stop me from dreaming about it," he sighed heavily.

I stroked his chest for a moment and then I kissed him.

"I'm here. You can go back to sleep. Don't you worry. Nothing of what you're dreaming about is real. You're back and we're together, stronger than ever. Remember that. We're a team," I told him.

Finally, he managed to drift off again and I with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 04**

Then next day Lex really needed to see our kids to talk to them and he wanted to do it alone.

"I just think it will be for the best. Then you can join… I just…" he suddenly cut off and kept on dressing.

"Lex, it'll be all right, trust me," I said and went over to him to put my hand on his shoulder. "Lily knows what really happened and she doesn't blame you."

"Still… I have those memories and…" Lex turned around to look at me. "I need to deal with them somehow. I need to face them. I don't want to make any excuses."

"They've already done them for you," I assured him and put my forehead to his. "They love you."

"I hope they still love me," he corrected. "Half of me took the love of my daughter's life just because I hated that she was dating a Queen."

"You can't know that Connor was her one and only. It was all too fresh."

"We knew we were to each other pretty fast," Lex said, letting go off me in order to deal with his tie.

"After the big revolution in science they are only few things I still believe in, one of them is love and the other is that what's meant to be will always find a way. Maybe Connor, in some bizarre twist of fate, was meant to die," I spoke my mind.

"I remember myself explaining… the good Lex's theory… and it is so frustrating. I have like two sets of memories and they're all blurry and they're all coming on one another. It's like I was in two places at once."

"Because you were," I told him, coming to him again and holding his hands. "And don't you forget that the good part is in you too. Both of them, good and evil, are balancing each other perfectly just like in any other human being."

"I would like to see you split for once," Lex made an attempt to joke.

"Haha, trust me, you wouldn't… unless the cause would be a meteor infected kid duplicating me like it happened to you once, remember?"

"I remember the sex," Lex admitted, nodding and smiling to me.

"Of course, you do." I rolled my eyes and walked to the door. "By the way, it's my favorite memory from that time too." I winked at him and left the room.

He needed some time alone with our kids now and I had something to do.

I was glad that Lex laughed. Maybe it was a step-up.

* * *

I wasn't sure that going to his house would be a good idea, so I just decided to see him in Watchtower when I knew there would be no one else there.

"Clark, I know you can hear me. Please, I need to talk to you," I simply said when I stepped into the empty room. He might not always use his superhearing, but he always heard when a person addressed him directly.

"Jess… I…" He flew through the special entrance in the roof, that only he could open, and landed in front of me.

"Let me speak, please," I said, raising my hand to keep him quiet. I still had difficulties with looking him in the eye, but I had no choice. We needed to settle this thing once and for all. We couldn't just keep pretending that nothing happened when… so much had already happened, I sighed.

There was no trance of any bruises on his face, but it was to be expected. Clark must heal as soon as Lex had left his house the day before.

"Clark, I'm sorry. I never meant any of this to happen, but… you need to understand that I had to be honest with Lex. There can't be any lies between us. I wouldn't be able to live with this burden."

"I do understand," Clark admitted and walked over to the couch on which he eventually sat. I followed his example, but I took the chair near it. "I also know I should've never…" he stopped and looked down. "Jess, I'm sorry. I still don't know what possessed me to…"

"I forgive you," I said. "And I am sorry too. I should've stopped you. I was so confused. I didn't understand where my feelings for Lex went and then… I was stupid, trying to forget the lack of them by using you."

"Let me be clear on something," Clark said in a hard voice, his eyes suddenly looking straight into mine. "_I_ used _you_. Lex was right. I was the one to make a move on you."

"Well, blaming ourselves won't take it back, so we just have to let it go and move on," I decided.

"I agree."

"Can…" I asked and stopped, then I finally said it, "Can Lois forgive you?" I was studying his face, desperately searching for confirmation. I really didn't want to see their marriage crumble.

"I'll fight like hell for her, because she's the one, right? I don't even know what to do without her," Clark confessed.

"It's good to hear at least that much," I said. "I hope she does forgive you. I would forgive Lex and if your love is just as strong as ours, it should be all right."

"You meant you forgave, Lex," Clark corrected me.

"It's not the same. Lex would never consciously…"

"Oh, so you think just because he was split he had the right to cheat on you?" Clark asked and suddenly, there was venom in his voice.

"What is it with you?" I asked, angry with him. "You know the reason he did it."

"Well, it was just the same. He wasn't getting it at home. Just like I wasn't," Clark dared say, but something told me he didn't really mean it. Somehow, he was just trying to hurt me back. Still, it wasn't like him at all.

"Can you hear yourself? Clark, what happened to you? You know what?!" I stood up. "I'm done! I am tired of explanations, tired of apologies and tired of handling this mess! I am fucking tired of digging in the past that already happened! I know what I know, all right?! You have no right to accuse Lex of anything! Think of your marriage! That's the thing you need to fix now! Leave mine alone! We're happy!"

"You're so sure that Lex would have never cheated on you if he hadn't been split?" he just asked.

"Yes, I am!"

"All right, then."

"There's the other thing I needed to talk to you about," I said, but there was no kindness in my voice anymore. "You know well that you can't expect me to choose you over Lex, do you?"

"Jess, I thought there was nothing romantic…" Clark started, clearly baffled.

"I'm not saying it like that. There really is nothing romantic between us," I made that clear for him. "But you were always my friend, Clark. The dearest one and I need to let you go now. I can't be your friend and in the same time Lex's wife. I need to choose one life and I choose him."

"Of course, you do. It's always him," Clark scoffed. "It's always Lex, the dearest Lex."

"Why are you mocking me?" I asked, this time not angry, this time I was just hurt. "What's so wrong in my devotion to him? I love him and if you love Lois just as much, you should understand. Besides, do you really think she will let you see me if she forgives you?"

Clark closed his eyes for a moment.

"Jess, I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have said anything… I just don't want you to get hurt. He's done more than enough to make you suffer in the past."

"Yes, but love is suffering, Clark. Life is suffering. All of this. And still, we chose it. We chose this eternal life and there's no going back. I don't even want to. No matter how messy it gets, it's real and I love it."

"This man will never be entirely good, Jess. There will always be darkness inside of him. And I'm not telling you this to hurt you. I'm just worried."

"I know, but there is darkness in every one of us. Those years Lex spent with Lionel, his terrible childhood… it made the dark part of him stand out more, but there's still so much good in him too. I can handle it all, trust me. I told you that once in the past and since that moment a hundred plus years have passed and I still mean it. What matters is choice and he learnt how to choose right. Let's not forget that judging from what you did, there's darkness inside you too and you have no excuse for it. You weren't split."

"I know and I still can't forgive myself. I keep thinking that my parents didn't raise me that way, so where it came from?" he asked, surprising me that he actually agreed with me.

"I would really like to talk to you about that, but… Clark, this is the kind of a talk you should have with Lois. I realize now that whenever you felt like you needed to talk to someone, you chose me. And you should have gone to her every single time. Don't be afraid she'll judge you. Just… tell her what really lies on your heart. You said she thinks of you as this invincible man with no problems, but maybe it's just the image you sold her? If she saw your human side more often, she would understand you more. And you just let her forget it instead."

"Maybe you're right," Clark admitted. "I just hope it's not too late for that."

"I think it's not. Just try and speak out of your heart. It's real when it's honest."

I came over to him and gave him a hug. A friendly one. I couldn't stay mad at him for long.  
We'd been together through too much in the past, but I also couldn't keep seeing him.

"It's time to say goodbye, Clark. You were always my best friend, remember that. You're also all that's left from our initial gang."

"I wish there was another way. I wish Lex could forgive me. I wish we didn't have to stop seeing each other after so many years of being a team."

"Me too, but this is just life. You've hurt Lex and it wasn't the first time, Clark. You need to bear the consequences."

He just nodded.

I turned around.

"Jess?" Clark called my name and I turned back to him.

"Yes?"

"You were right. Lex would never hurt you when being himself."

I smiled to him through my tears.

"Thank you for saying that. It means a lot that you admitted it."

This time I left for real.

And it was the last time I saw Clark.

Nothing would ever be the same, I thought sadly.

* * *

When I came back home and stepped into the study, I saw a touching picture. Lex was just hugging Lily who was silently crying in his arms. I saw his face once I entered and his eyes were slightly red, an indication that he was emotional too. Only Lex very rarely show such feelings and most of the times they were hidden. I schooled myself in recognizing them and now I could tell every single time what was going on inside him.

Sometimes, and after so many decades, I still remembered Lionel. I still hated him for doing this to his son. I hated him for teaching his son that showing emotions meant weakness. Lex knew better by now, but still, ruling over them was rooted deeply inside him and those roots reached his early childhood. Such things stayed with a person forever and there was nothing one could do about it.

"Are you all right?" I asked when stepping into the room and closing the door behind me.

"Yes," Lily let go off her father and wiped her eyes. "It's fine, mom. We're fine."

Lex looked at me and his eyes told me a silent thank you. I was right, then. Our children didn't blame him. They understood. It still hurt, but they understood that the only people - or aliens for that matter - to blame were the Locians.

"What d'you say we eat lunch together?" I suggested.

* * *

Later that day I was left alone in the mansion. I needed time to relax, to put the emotional trauma aside and to just recharge my batteries.

Lex and Alex were at the JexCorp since Lex had either missed a lot or had troubles with remembering what he'd done there exactly. They'd been gone for hours and I didn't expect Lex back anytime soon.

I was just about to go to take a bath after an afternoon spent in the garden while reading a book, when the staff told me that Lois Lane-Kent was here to see me.

For a moment there I wondered if I should even talk to her, but I hoped that maybe it could help Clark. Maybe I could say something that would make her forgive him, that would make her to believe in him again.

So I went to the hall to see her.

"How could you do this to me?!" she screamed once she saw me and before I managed to say anything for my defense, she just slapped me across the face.

My head was thrown aside and I was in such a shock that I didn't know what to do.

It turned out that I didn't have to, because in the same time Lex came home.

"How dare you hitting my wife?!" he growled at Lois.

"Well, she deserved it!" she yelled at him. "You know what she did!"

"I know what Clark did. My wife is not the guilty party here. It's your husband, Lois," Lex said, his voice coming back to a normal tone, but it was ice cold. He walked to my side and put his arm around me. "Are you all right?" he asked me with care.

"Nothing that won't heal. It's ok, Lex… Lois, I'm sorry," I turned to her now. "If this is your way of dealing, then so be it. Blame me, forgive Clark, just… please, forgive him."

"And who are you to play his advocate?" Lois asked, supporting her hands on each side of her hips. "Why would you even care?"

"Because you two are really meant for each other and he loves you. You're the one for him, trust me. He said it himself. You just need to… talk it out. Don't treat him like a superhuman with no problems. Lois, just treat him like a man and…"

"Excuse me? Now you're telling me how to treat…"

"Ladies!" Lex raised his voice again. "Enough! Let's just put it all behind us! Lois, you can be sure that Clark will never hear from me and Jessica again. You can go home and deal with your marriage. Talk it out. Do not throw away all those years."

"How do you do this?" Lois suddenly asked us, her voice strangely quiet. "How? You're just… you're the perfect couple. After everything… you're still together and it's still so strong."

"What we have is not worth to just throw away, beside," I said, "this is different."

"If you were me, would you forgive him?" Lois asked another surprising question, but I was more than happy to answer.

"Yes," I said honestly. "I would. Trust me, I know the circumstances and… yes, I would give him another chance. You two should just really… talk. Not yell at each other, just talk, try to say what you really want to say to each other."

"I… thank you," Lois finally said to my astonishment. "And sorry… ya know, for the slap… I just…"

"I know, Lois, I know," I said and finally, I was able to close the door on yet another person that had used to be in my life.

"Are you hurt?" Lex made sure when tilting my head back to look at my cheek.

"Physically or emotionally?" I asked the perfect question. "Don't worry, the slap was nothing... I was just about to take a bath. Care to join?"

"You don't even have to ask."

Half an hour later we were both lying in a hot bubbly water, kissing until I was straddling him and impaling myself on his cock.

"She said we're the perfect pair," Lex noticed when capturing my lips again.

"Don't be so cocky. No pair is."

"I love you talking dirty." He bit on my earlobe and started pushing into me from under me, his cock hitting just the right spot.

"Ah… mm… I… didn't mean it like this…"

"Yes, you did."

* * *

Whether we liked it or not, there was one more person to speak to, one more person to apologize to. This might be even the most important one, because he lost not only one loved one but two.

Only Oliver Queen refused to pick up when Lex called and when Lex actually tried to see him in his work, the blond avoided him.

"Let me talk to him first," I suggested. "He won't be mad at me."

"Are you sure?" Lex asked. "After all, you still are in a relationship with me."

"That doesn't have to do anything with it."

"You see, I bet Oliver begs the differ. You shouldn't go there alone."

"I'll be fine. He would never hurt me. I saved his life, remember?"

"All too well," Lex sighed. "But I get it. You saved your friend. I'm no longer jealous."

"I'm glad to hear that. Those insecurities of yours toward me are just silly."

"Well, they are well-grounded, Jessica. Do you know what I thought when you confessed sleeping with Clark? I thought that I knew that day would come. He's so much better than me. He's the noble one, the good one, the handsome and muscular one. He's the damned Superman!" he suddenly confessed.

"Do you really think that way?" I stopped on my way to the door. "Lex, you know this is not true."

"I do, but still… why do you love me? What do you see in me when surrounded with men like Clark and Queen?"

I made my way to Lex again and put the palms of my hands to his chest.

"You really want to know? I thought I've told you that a thousand times already."

"Thousand more won't hurt," he teased me, covering his emotions with humor.

"I love the way you look and your head… it's just irresistible, Lex. I'd rather have you than all the men with the great hair. I love you, because you're original. You're handsome and your body is fantastic and I never liked men that were too bulky. I like lean but strong, toned muscles but not too muscular. And I love who you are, how you try, how you struggle. Everything about you is fascinating. You're deep and even when you don't see it or don't believe it sometimes, I do love the good in you. It's there. You just need to look hard enough," I finished.

His eyes were blue and gray and impenetrable. Just the way I liked.

"I love you," he finally said. "You're so special. And you know… you can keep telling me all of this every day, just in case."

I started laughing and I swatted him lightly on the chest.

"I need to go! At this rate we'll land up in bed in two minutes and I have things to settle first!"

"We can always land up on the pool table in ten seconds," Lex pointed the addressed subject.

I just gave him a brief kiss on the lips and left.

Damn, that man was good at seducing!

* * *

"Ollie!" All my thoughts of romantic endeavors with Lex needed to be pushed aside when I finally saw the blond head I was looking for. He nearly ran away from me too, but I managed to squeeze into the elevator he was taking. "Oliver!" That was it. We were trapped. To be safe I pulled the emergency stop.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he got angry. "Why won't you two just leave me alone?! Don't you see I don't want to talk to you?"

"Oliver, please," I was persistent. I wouldn't give up now when I finally was face to face with the man.

"Jessica, I'm serious. I don't want to speak neither to you nor to Lex."

"Why? Oliver, Lex just wants to apologize and make sure you're all right. It wasn't his fault, but he still needs to make some amends."

"Not his fault?" Oliver scoffed. "Jess, wake up! Why do you think the Locians chose him? Because of his history and because he has the power in this world! They just freed what was already there inside him!"

"It's in every one of us, but it's balancing…"

"Cut the Emil crap, will you? I know that. I understand it all, but it doesn't change the fact that whenever something like this happens, it's always Lex!"

"That's not true!" And now instead of making amends, I was defending my husband. Way to go!

"Really? Why did the Darkseid was on Earth? Lionel wanted to use him to resurrect his son! Why were you so hurt then? Why do we live forever with no purpose?!"

"First of all, the Darkseid got here through the gate Clark opened! Second of all, we do have a purpose!" I argued.

"Then tell me about it!"

I stopped. I discovered I couldn't do it. I knew it was love. The real purpose of life was to love, but then I realized that Oliver had nothing left to love.

"Exactly, now tell me how am I supposed to live forever with no one by my side? I wish you hadn't saved me," he said.

"Oliver…"

"They died because of something that you did! Maybe I was meant to die myself!"

"Oliver, you can still…"

"What? Fall in love? Have a family? Find someone? Why? For what? To lose them again in the future? Jess, let's not fool ourselves. This life… this eternity… it's not a blessing. It's a curse."

"Oliver, please don't say such things. You can't possibly try to kill yourself!" I suddenly got scared that he actually might try.

"No, I won't. I'm too much of a coward for that. I rather live this miserable existence than die and maybe enter something unknown or maybe disappear forever," the bitter answer came.

I wanted to say that he wouldn't disappear forever since I'd seen Lana in the afterlife, but… I'd rather stay quiet. It wasn't the time for such information. It might do no good. It might do just the opposite.

"You know, I still don't understand why you love him and I probably never will," Oliver said and pulled back on the emergency stop so the elevator would start again.

"I don't expect you to understand. I expect you to respect my decisions and feelings."

I didn't see any sense in lingering there, so once the elevator door opened, I left.

Some people could not be helped if they refused it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

_Clark_

He forgot how much power words had. Words could hurt. They could cut deeper than a knife. Slice through one's insides, straight through one's heart.

Those seven words, he'd just heard coming from her mouth, shook his world forever. Broke his life. What purpose did he have now?

"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore," she spoke with tears in her eyes and walked into their daughter's room.

He followed her, shaking. She couldn't just leave. She couldn't do that. What would he become without her? What would he do? The world barely needed Superman. It barely even needed an investigate reporter as now every article seemed to be about the next breakthrough in science or the growing number of people, which was alarming and in a few decades would be so high that there could literary be not enough room on Earth. Only Clark didn't worry about that now. People were inventive. If they could find a way to live underwater by building special glass houses - that by the way were very popular nowadays among the rich and famous - they could find a way to live in space, in planes, in higher buildings or even - in the future - inhabit another planet. The JexCorp's plans were just about that recently. Lex and Alex Luthor were investing a lot in trips into space.

Now all that mattered to Clark was his family. That was his whole world. Not the glory. Not the fame. Not Superman. Just family. And family was Lois and Lara.

"Lois, you can't do this!" he called after her and followed her to Lara's room.

Lois already picked the baby up from her crib and was about to leave.

"I can't?!" she yelled and then winced, lowering her voice down so Lara wouldn't start crying again. "How could_ you_ did this to me?" she asked, looking at him with those hurt eyes. God, that look would haunt him forever, literary. "Was I that bad? Were those hundred years we've spent together so bad? Did you get bored with me, Clark?"

"Lois, I've already told you a thousand times, I did not get bored. I love you! I was weak and desperate and… I… I don't even know how it happened… it happened so fast… and I regretted it ever since… Please, do not throw away what we have because of this one mistake I made," he kept on beginning, still hoping. Only he should've known better. There wasn't a more stubborn woman on this Earth than Lois.

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"Clark, I really don't want to, but you left me no choice. I can't even look at you now. When I do, I see you with her. I went to her and I made a scene, but the truth is… it wasn't entirely her fault. You really did catch her at her weakest moment and used her. I'm still having troubles adjusting to that thought. I know that if Lex was all right, she would never do this, but… maybe I should be glad that she did, because now… now I finally see what kind of a person you truly are."

"Lois, no! I'm not that person! I…"

"You were horny. You wanted sex. A body to fuck," Lois hissed at him. Every word cutting deep into him, making him feel more and more guilty about this. "I was carrying _your _child. I almost _died _during this pregnancy and it was so hard _on you _to not have sex with me? And then… do you really think that if we just talked seriously again and if you did tell me no straightforwardly… do you really think I would be such a deceitful bitch that I would deliberately get pregnant with you? I was so fucking blind! I would do anything for you, even this and you… you just… oh, forget it!" She walked right past him, straight to the hall where there were suitcases waiting.

"Lois, I beg of you!" Clark followed her again.

"No, I'm done, Clark. It hurts. Believe me, it does, but I can't stay. You'll still be able to see Lara. I'll send you a schedule. I will leave her somewhere with Ollie or Bart or Victor and you will be able to take her, but I do not want to see you ever again," she said in a hard voice.

And just like that - she closed the door between them. She ended their relationship.

Clark's knees gave out and hit the floor, making a dent in the wood. It was a good thing he didn't find himself one level below.

He lost everything. Just _everything_, he thought in despair.

He lost his wife. The only woman he'd ever really loved. His one and only, he thought when using Jess's words about Lex. There wasn't really anything stronger he'd felt toward a woman in his life, so Lois must be the one, mustn't she?

He lost Jessica, his best and oldest friend too. He lost Lex.

He lost everyone.

Who would want to choose his side over Lois's right now?

And how had it happened that he suddenly become the bad guy?

* * *

_Jessica_

"Tess! No! Tess!" Lex sat up in bed, once again waking up from another nightmare. There were so frequent now that he barely slept at all. He tried not to at first, but I reminded him that he needed sleep. There was no way he could go on longer without a proper rest and although people could technically live forever, there were still accidents happening. The last thing I wanted was an accident that would take him away from me once I got him back. One relationship destroyed was about all we could handle right now and I still wasn't sure if that was the relationship between Clark and Lois or was it Lex and Clark's friendship. It was all so hard. After so many years it was hard to get used to something new, especially when we didn't really want the change. Still, it was necessary.

Clark and Lois were in the past. Oliver didn't want to talk to me and Lex certainly didn't want to see Oliver again. Chloe and Connor were dead. My daughter, Lily, was in pain. There was too much pain around us and it hurt me not to be able to help any one of those affected people.

"Lex, it's ok, I'm here," I said to him when sitting up too and puling Lex's head to my chest, hugging him like that. At least I could do this, at least I could be here for him and I could try to make it better for him. "I'm here. You're ok. It was just a dream," I began whispering to him as I cradled him in my arms.

"But it did happen. I don't know what to do to stop it. I don't know how to go on, Jessica," he said.

"I'll help you. You'll be fine."

"What if it never goes away?"

"Have you been to a doctor?" I asked. "Maybe Emil could give you something or help you cope?"

"No, I… I don't want to bother him. He's already done a lot for me and he didn't have to."

"We need to help you somehow."

"I just keep thinking about her… her life," Lex said after a few minutes of silence during which we laid back down.

"It's Tess, isn't it?" I asked. "She's the one appearing in your dreams."

"I stopped dreaming about Chloe and Connor and I feel both relieved and guilty about it. Now I just dream about Tess," Lex confessed. "And it's killing me. I keep seeing her face, her eyes when I… when he… stabs her and the look in her eyes… it's like she was asking me why, like she couldn't understand why I could do this to her. It was like I turned into my worst nightmare myself, into my father."

"You will never be your father," I assured him when cupping his face and touching my forehead to his.

"It was close once. I killed him," Lex said in a bitter voice.

"You know what makes you different even though you did kill him?" I prompted.

"No, tell me."

"You regretted it or at least you couldn't live with yourself after that. You just… lost it. Followed Clark to Arctic in hope you'd die there. When your father murdered his parents, he didn't regret it. Quite the opposite, he proudly started LuthorCorp."

"I love you so much," Lex said when meeting my eyes deeply. "You always seem to know me better than I know myself."

"You just think that way, but in fact, I just have a much clearer perspective of you."

"I keep thinking of my sister's life. It was all suffering. My father left her in the orphanage and then she was in the system. She did great for herself, she did get a degree in marine biology and went on saving the world when she was taken captive and then… she got rescued, but she never got back to that life. She became a businesswoman and I'm not even sure if she loved it. She finally met me and ran the JeXCorp, but… maybe I'm the worst thing that happened to her?" Lex suddenly asked.

"You're not," I assured him. "You're forgetting the most important thing. Thanks to you she met Emil. She was in love with him. They've spent a bunch of wonderful years together, Lex. That's what counts. Every life eventually ends, but she died happy."

"No, she didn't. She died thinking her brother, the only blood family she had left, murdered her in a cold blood."

"I'm sure that wherever she is now, she knows that you didn't. She knows that it wasn't your fault. Lex, you need to let it go and forgive yourself. After all, you weren't really yourself."

"I wish I could talk to her one last time," he just said.

"Then do it. Pretend she can hear you. Who knows… maybe she can. I lost my best friend, a friend I grew up with, remember? I rather believe she is out there somewhere, happy."

"How can you when you outlived her? When you've been living so long while any trace of her body in this earth is already gone?" Lex asked.

"Maybe I'm delusional, but somewhere deep inside I know I'm really not," I told him. "When I had my face burnt by Zod…" I winced, because it was not a particularly happy memory. Quite the opposite. In fact, it was the biggest physical pain I'd ever felt. "I was hanging between life and death and I saw her. I talked to her. I know it's real, because you weren't there and I had no way of knowing why. I believed you were there, but I didn't see you. There was no hope in me to think that you could actually come back to me."

"I believe you," Lex assured me when stroking my cheek, then pulling a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"That is why I think you should talk to her, pretend or try to believe she's there, listening. You don't have to do it now with me here. You can do it alone. Whenever you're ready."

"You know that if it hadn't been for you, I would've lost it already, don't you?"

"That's why I'm here. That's supporting each other in a relationship." I closed the distance between us and kissed him deeply.

* * *

_Oliver_

He went into a bar. What else could he do anyway? Where else could he go? No one needed Green Arrow those days and if they did, it was because another advert was needed, it was because people started destroying the environment again. A feature all of them had. They forgot. They learn a thing and then, after a few years, they suddenly stopped caring and a new campaign was needed. Both Oliver and AC did it only because they really cared about Earth and the environment, although the participation wasn't pleasant. Oliver nearly missed being Green Arrow those days, he missed helping people every night. Now he only put the outfit on to promote a green way of living.

He had no family left as they were murdered. He was truly alone. He still had a company to run, but after so many years it was easy. JeXCorp was the one major company that was basically ruling the world, but Queen Industries was quite popular too. It took care of the environment and healthy way of living whereas JeXCorp was all about the revolution in science.

Oliver Queen happened to have no one right now. No friends. No family. Just work. And the eternal life. Yeah, he would fucking drink to that. What else could he do? Technically, he could just take his own life since it had no purpose anyway and he stopped enjoying it. Now it was just pain and ways of numbing it. Just going on blindly with no purpose. But he couldn't kill himself. He might not be one of those faith freaks, hardly anyone on this Earth was anymore, but he did believe that there was, indeed, something after life. He would be damned, both metaphorically and literally, if he just killed himself and found in a place far away from his ded son and wife.

The truth was that with time, with so many years passing by, what he felt to Chloe had kind of faded away. He was sure she'd felt the same way too. He could sense it. They'd stayed together because what else they could do, really? There had been times when Oliver had wondered if Clark with Lois and Lex with Jessica had really been as happy together after so many years as they'd seemed to be. Why would they fake it? Now he had his answer. Jessica still loved Lex deeply, still wanted him in every way. Oliver had stopped wanting Chloe a long time ago and vice versa. What that was all about? Why some couples were thriving and some just crumbled? Why some felt the passion and some found it gone? Was Chloe his real destiny? His one and only? And is she was not…

No, that had no sense. Oliver had lived for so many years that if he hadn't found his true mate by now, he would've never…

Maybe some couples were just lucky, he decided as he made his way to the bar and sat on one of the stools. Maybe some were destined to last and love each other and some were not. Maybe true love was special and not every single person could experience it. But if so, then why someone like Lex Luthor could? Oliver thought in anger. It wasn't that he blamed Lex for what happened to Chloe, Connor and Tess. Even he had to admit that it wasn't entirely Lex's fault, that consciously this Lex would never do something like that. The old one from hundred years ago, yes, this one? No. He was a family man now and he cared about his wife and children more than about anything else. Still, Oliver had other reasons to hate him. He would always have them as Lex would too.

"Tequila shot," he placed an order and waited for the first round.

Then he felt someone's eyes on him. He was sure it was a woman and she was sitting right next to his left. The bar was a crowded place, so there was really no room to get picky with stools. Oliver wanted to scoff at them all. The longer they lived, the more people turned to alcohol. Apparently, eternal life wasn't as great for them as for others. Apparently people always wanted what was worst for them. Typical feature of a human nature. Maybe it would've been better if Oliver and Chloe had just died the natural way.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not here for…" Oliver turned to this woman, because he started to get irritated, and then he stopped in surprise. "Lily?!" he burst when he recognized her. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

No, he didn't have to worry that she wanted to pick him up. He'd known her since the day she'd been born!

"Jeez, chill out. I could've been celebrating my hundredth birthday right now," she said and did a shot.

"Is that vodka?" Oliver asked.

"Scotch," Lily answered, wincing as the liquid burnt its way down her throat. "I guess I took after my dad," she added. "Don't look at me like that! I'm only thirty years younger than you are!"

"And if you said it a hundred years ago, it would be gruesome, but now…" Oliver just shrugged, his voice trailing off. "What do I care? I'm not Lex. Drink up. I just stay here to make sure you'll get home safely." He gestured to the bartender for another tequila.

"When you'll be drunk too? Thank you, but I can take care of myself," she answered.

"Sure, you can. Luthors always do." Another shot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, scoffing at him. "I have every right to be here just like you do! I lost someone!"

"And I lost everything. Does that beat it?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly said. "I should've…"

"I know it hurts you too, Lily, but you still have a family. You still have someone to lean on…" Oliver cut it and just shook his head. "Oh, forget it. Why would I give any pep talks? I don't care."

"I know you suffer more," Lily suddenly admitted. "After all, I'd been with Connor for only a few months. It was all so fresh… You and Chloe…"

Oliver just snorted. "Yeah."

"What that supposed to mean?"

"I wish it was all that simple. Find the perfect half and live happily ever after. But you know what? There is _no _happily ever after. Everything eventually burns out," he said, his voice full of acid.

"Tell that to my parents who keep fucking like bunnies," Lily suddenly blurted out. "Oh god, I'm sorry. All of this alcohol makes me very honest and I don't watch my words… sorry…" She felt ashamed.

To her astonishment, Oliver laughed.

"Actually, it it funny. Or maybe I'm drunk already too… no, not enough…" He winced as he decided. "The image you just put into my head… no…" He shook his head and gulped another shot.

"Yeah, right there with ya!" She drunk as well.

"How many can you actually handle?" he asked and she just shrugged in response.

"Were you actually ever drunk before?" Oliver kept on asking.

"Sure, I was. I'm too old not to be."

"Just be smart about it."

"Like you are? You know what I should tell you? Go on and find a damn reason to go on," she said.

"Excuse me…" he started, agitated by her blatant advice, but then when he looked at her, he just asked, "Are you ok?"

Lily blinked a few times. "I'm feeling… my world's spinning… and I'm babbling, but… the point is that you don't seat here and mope. You go and do something with your life. You have no reason to go on? Find one! Look around! There are so many people here that need helping and not that kind… you do… they need… the kind of help… ya know, to learn to live too… They're sad. Everyone's fucking sad and depressed those days!"

Oliver was watching her with funny expression on his face. He was neither sad anymore, nor was cheered, but there was something about Lily that made him want to keep smiling.

"I'll try doing that, just… later," he said when nodding with a smile on his face.

"Sure. Me too… now I'm just too damn drunk to figure it all out…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

_Lex _

It was already late afternoon and still, Lex couldn't get himself to work. He was just sitting in his office, looking blindly at the opposite wall, imagining how his other self, his evil self, had killed his sister in this very room.

His head was pounding so he rubbed his temples, but that didn't bring him any solace.

He could deal with his hands killing Chloe and Connor, no matter how horrible and gruesome it sounded, he could. He'd known them both almost all their lives, but they'd never been that close. The very possibility of Connor becoming his family had nauseated him, but he could deal with it. He could deal with everything, but murder… It was not that he didn't regret it. He regretted every single thing he'd done when being split, but taking his own sister's life, his own flesh and blood? That was the hardest to accept. That brought him the most pain.

Suddenly, he remembered what Jessica had told him the other day. It seemed silly, but maybe… maybe it could really help him?

He imagined his sister standing right there on the opposite side of his desk and he spoke to her, "Tess, I…" he stopped, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Even though he was talking to an empty room, deep inside he was talking to Tess and he really hoped she could hear him. Why would she not? Jessica had told him that she'd spoken to Lana when having her near death experience. If the fact that Lex had not been there was not enough to believe that it'd really happened then Lex didn't know what was. Maybe his constant anxiousness had something to do with what he felt. And he could _feel _Tess's presence everywhere. Like she was a ghost, haunting him.

"Tess, I am so sorry," he finally said, his voice giving away emotions he didn't want anyone to notice. It was too late though. He clearly wasn't as tough as he liked to believe himself to be. Some cases were just too damn hard to keep a straight poker face. "I hope wherever you are… you can be happy. I'm sorry this happened to me. I'm sorry this happened to you. I… I never meant for you to get hurt. I hope you know that I would never do anything to you when being… the person I am now," he finished awkwardly. "I wish I could take it all back. I wish we still had the Legion ring to…" He remembered how many consequences travelling in time brought and he sighed. "I don't know myself. I just… I just need you to forgive me. I love you, sis, and I hope you know that you were the only family that wasn't Jessica or my children that ever mattered to me. To be honest, I got so used to your presence that I'm not sure how I can just go on without you now… But I need to let you go," he suddenly spoke, surprising himself. "I need to do it, because life goes on. Some people die, some live, some find happiness and some don't… I thought I fixed all the problems people had, but I never fixed the biggest ones, because they are just not fixable. There's nothing I can do to make people happy…" He sighed deeply again and hid his face in his hands. "I miss you, sis," he finished.

Somehow it did help, he realized when he finally left his office with the intention to just go home. There was no point in staying up late at work when he couldn't get any work done. There were more important things like his family. His family needed him. Those who were still alive needed him well and good.

* * *

_Lily_

She didn't plan on going back to that bar, but she did it anyway in hope… She didn't let those thoughts into her head. She couldn't even let herself comprehend it.

Yet, she was here. She was here, looking for Oliver Queen. The father of her dead boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend of her mother. A man her father hated more than anyone else in this world.

A hundred years ago this would be sick and wrong, but now… Who were they to tell what was right or wrong when everything in this world was turned upside down? People didn't die. People could be young forever. If someone was born today, in eighteen years they could start a relationship with someone who'd been born a hundred years ago and it would be all right.

Lily shook her head. Why did she even go there? She just came here to have some fun and his company was the only one thing that made her laugh again. The only thing that didn't make her feel depressed, because she had absolutely no idea what to do with herself in the long run that her life would turn out to be.

She was about to turn around and leave. It was a stupid thing to come here in the first place anyway.

It was then that she saw him. He was sitting by the bar like the other night they'd talked and laughed together. He was alone and he was once again drinking.

Her legs started walking to him on their own and before Lily knew it, she was speaking to him, "Keep that up and you'll turn into an eternal drunk."

Oliver's back twitched and then he turned to look at her.

"Lily," he said her name and something inside her stirred. She really liked the sound of his voice calling her. "What are you doing here again?"

"The same thing you do, apparently," she retorted and took the chair next to him. "Don't you think you've had enough?" she asked.

He just shrugged.

"What am I supposed to do anyway? I'm already a billionaire and my company's prospering great right now. I have no family. It's either this or…"

"Or what?" Lily prompted, suddenly feeling scared for him.

She was afraid he would be capable of hurting himself, maybe even of taking his own life.

Even though he'd been uncle Oliver to her when she'd been little, she'd very rarely seen him, much less talked to him during her life. The Queens had not been spending much time in the mansion or around the Luthors, probably because of the lifelong resentment toward each other. Even when being with Connor, Lily hadn't really known his father as they'd kept their relationship in secret. She wondered now why that was exactly. Maybe the idea of Romeo and Juliet had appealed to her and made their relationship seemed more special? Secrets had made it all that more exiting.

"I'm here to forget my miserable existence, not to mourn my family," Oliver said angrily.

"You think I'm here to mourn?" Lily asked, surprised and she beckoned to the bartender to give her whatever the hell Oliver was drinking.

"You're here to talk about Connor," he said bitterly and finished another shot. "And I can't. It's too painful. Lily, I lost my only son. No parent should ever go through something like that."

_I'm here for you, not for Connor! _Lily wanted to yell at him, but she didn't, instead she just drunk up. And sputtered. And coughed. And winced.

"The hell! What is that thing?!" she asked, taking deep breaths to soothe her throat, but that didn't seem to help. Her eyes were already teary.

"Here you go, miss," the bartender handed her over a plate full of lemon slices and she took one and bit on it.

Oliver snorted. "It's Russian vodka. There's nothing stronger in this bar."

"Oh," she said dumbly, already feeling the room spinning. "Damn, that's just nasty."

Oliver sniggered.

"Don't you laugh at me! It's all your fault!" She punched him lightly in the arm. _Damn, _she thought, suddenly marveling at the feel of his muscles underneath her hand. They were so hard. She wondered what he was hiding underneath that shirt of his…

_Stop right there_, there was a red light appearing in her head. She couldn't let her thoughts wander to places she might regret later.

"Are you ok?" he suddenly asked her, looking at her with those beautiful hazel eyes.

_There you go, you should go to hell for fantasizing about a father of your dead boyfriend! _She scolded herself.

_But what's wrong about it? It's not like you were interested in both of them in the same time. And it's not like there's a significant age difference. It's only technical. Your bodies are still young._

Lily closed her eyes and turned back to the bar.

"Yeah, just peachy," she answered, feeling her cheeks burning. "Another one please!"

"Lily, you really shouldn't…" His hand was suddenly on her wrist like he was trying to stop her from drinking again.

"Oh, relax, what can happen to me? In worst case scenario I'll just take VA and problem solved!"

"If only that solved everything," Oliver spoke. "You know what's wrong with the system? We've been always trying to fix what's wrong with us physically, but the real problem is what's inside. That's something no VA can ever cure."

"Right there with ya!" Lily agreed, doing another shot and biting on the lemon immediately. She winced anyway.

To her astonishment, Oliver laughed. And he had a very beautiful laugh. White teeth. Hazel eyes. Gorgeous blond hair.

There was also something in those eyes now that…

Oliver couldn't help it. He found her really attractive. He knew those thoughts and feelings were… His eyes wandered to her chest and he felt tightness in his pants. He knew he couldn't go there. It would be just plain… wrong. She was the daughter of the women he'd loved once. What more, Jessica was his first real love. How could he now think that way of Lily? Only he couldn't help it.

Lily took the lemon slice out of her mouth and licked her lips what caused Oliver to harden even more. That tongue… and that…

He turned back to the bar with a grunt.

"Are you all right?" she asked him for a change. The room was definitely dancing around her but she didn't care. All she cared about was that broken man in front of her.

Broken, she nearly laughed in her drunk stage as she realized the obvious similarity. Her mother had fallen for her father in that exact state. Lex Luthor was definitely in the category of broken men.

"You're broken," she said it out loud and then realized that it slipped.

"What?" Oliver looked at her again in a slight surprise.

"You're broken, Oliver," she repeated, getting closer, so he could hear her. "And someone needs to fix you," she finished, her eyes trailing to his lips.

Oliver couldn't stand this tension any longer. He didn't care about the consequences anymore. He needed to… He needed to taste those lips. He needed to know how it felt. He…

Lily froze when suddenly, his lips came crashing against hers and she felt his tongue slipping between them. That did it. She forgot about everything else and just focused on kissing him too. She opened her mouth for him, grabbed his face with her hands, let him in, battled with his tongue and… God, it felt so good. She moaned and…

"Go get a room!" they heard coming from the bartender.

So they did.

They both had no idea how it happened exactly and why none of them stopped the other, but they were too desperate to feel something, anything but the emptiness and numbness. They craved one another, craved a warm body, passion that they surprisingly discovered in each other.

Lily vaguely remembered the taxi they took to the hotel. They were kissing and she straddled Oliver and… those hard muscles of his arms, the way his chest felt beneath her fingers, hard, raising and falling as he was breathing and… She so wished to rip his clothes off, but she couldn't just yet. She discovered the hard bulge on the front of his pants and grazed herself against it, both moaning herself and earning a grunt from Oliver. Then his hands were on her breasts and…

"Can you wait a few minutes until we actually get to the hotel?" they heard the voice of an exasperated driver.

They reluctantly broke off the kiss and Lily sat back in her seat, suddenly hit with what she'd just done. And with whom she'd done it. But she still wanted it. Drunk or not, she knew she wanted it. She just hoped Oliver wouldn't change his mind. She was already too worked up for that.

They finally reached the hotel and Oliver paid the taxi driver the triple fare.

"He deserved that for the show we gave him," he told Lily and grabbed her hand as they entered the hotel.

He still wanted to do this, she felt relieved. Or he was still drunk enough to do it. Either way was fine with her.

When they finally entered their room, Oliver grabbed her and pushed against the wall, kissing her and grazing his whole body against her. He was so hard and she felt such a need deep inside her that she suspected she could come just from this.

"This is so wrong…" she finally heard his raspy voice when his lips descended to suck on her neck and then lick the moulds of her breasts.

"We're both adults… and we want this…"

"It's still wrong," he said, taking her shirt off of her, revealing her green lacy bra.

"I don't… care," she moaned when her bra was gone and his lips latched onto her right nipple and his hand slid inside her jeans.

She vaguely remembered she wanted him naked too, so she grabbed the front of his shirt and ripped it open. Buttons scattered the floor, but they didn't care. She got a glimpse of what she wanted to see and it exceeded all her expectations. He was so beautiful.

She felt herself being raised up as Oliver carried her to the bedroom when he just dropped her on the bed. He took the remnants of his shirt off and stood above her. Desire so evident in his eyes and in his pants.

"Still wrong," he decided, shaking his head.

By now she thought he was just teasing her, using the forbidden fruit tale to make the sex that much better.

"Still not caring," she answered when sprawled on the bed.

He bent over to her and kissed her again, then cupped her breasts, massaging them skillfully.

"Enough… Ollie, I… I need you inside…" she moaned into his hot mouth.

He didn't have to be told twice. He undid her jeans and then slid them down her legs, taking the shoes off on the way, leaving her only in her green panties.

She sat on the bed, still being at a lower point than he was and she looked up at him. Then she undid his own jeans, pulling them down, seeing his hard member poking through his boxers. Green boxers, of course.

"I guess we share our love for green color," she smiled to him and earned a laugh. She pulled his boxers down and finally, there it was, his cock standing proudly, nearly at the level of her eyes. It was bigger than she expected.

She didn't hesitate when she took the tip into her mouth and sucked on it.

Oliver remembered how she'd sucked on the lemon slices back in the bar and now he almost lost it.

He pushed her back to the bed and ripped the panties off her, then hovered over her and she spread her legs when not even thinking about it. They went up and around his waist and kept him in their vice.

Their eyes locked, green meeting hazel, now fully aware of what they were about to do. Suddenly, Lily was afraid he would pull away, call it wrong again and never speak to her.

Only he didn't. He was desperate and she saw it. Desperate and broken. He needed her. He needed her affection, her soft body to bury himself inside. He needed it all and she would give it to him even if that would mean her heart breaking forever. Because she knew she could love him easily. He could so easily and so surprisingly become the one for her. The one Connor had never seem to be, because that had been an illusion, a fairy tale ideal. And this was real and raw. Sadly, she was pretty sure Oliver couldn't fall in love with her. She was just a body, a warm body that enveloped him and took him in, but she would take what he would get her till she was no more.

She felt him at her entrance, sliding in fast until he was all the way inside her.

Her mouth opened widely, her channel clenched around him and he grunted.

"I want you," she found herself saying when still looking into his eyes like she wanted to look deep into his soul.

"I want you too," she heard in answer and that made her complete for now.

Then she felt him going in and out, faster and faster, the sound of bodies slapping together and the smell of sex filled the air. She let him, she loved it. For the first time in her life she felt something different during sex, something meaningful and grand and special. Maybe that was true love? She was afraid of it, she suddenly realized, but she held onto him for dear life. And she was moving with him, meeting his every hard thrust.

Then she felt herself being taken higher and higher, the orgasm approaching, stronger than ever before, sending her to places she couldn't even imagine existed. Her vision went white and she was pretty sure she was loud. She came and then felt him coming inside her. She loved the feeling of his body convulsing, the feeling of his cock pulsing inside her, then freezing and spilling his semen into her when riding out his orgasm, his sweaty body holding her. She loved it all. And she desperately wanted to keep it. Only she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able too.

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**AN: **Videos/promos considering Lilie (Oliver + Lily)

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Youtube

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Lily and Oliver: Carnival of Lust

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watch?v=HlabuhtnBm4

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Listen to Your Heart:

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watch?v=cXti-YTwJjI

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Full links in my profile

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Plus four possible covers:

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postimg.

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org

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1) image/4ahf4otux/

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2) image/vv56yu52h/

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3) image/3wg3539rd/

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4) /image/ipposqb6x/

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Also in my profile


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 07**

_Lily_

It was a very hot morning, Lily thought once she woke up. Added to that, her head was pounding like crazy… and she was thirsty. She felt like she could drink a few bottles of water at once…

She froze when she opened her eyes. This was not her room. And the heat wasn't caused by the closed window, it was caused by a heavy body lying almost on top of her.

It all came back to her. She and Oliver had slept together. He was spooning her right now, holding onto her like he never wanted to let her go.

She slowly turned her head to the left, but she only managed to see his blond hair.

Would he push her away once he woke up? Would he tell her it was a mistake that could never happen again? She hoped not, but she knew it was all futile. He surely would. She really could've picked them better, she sighed. Why couldn't she go for some nice guy who would want to date her and would treat her well and be with her? Only she didn't want that nice guy. The problem was what her heart suddenly seemed to want. She really was just like her mother. Nice and sweet just wasn't for them. They rather have broken and passionate.

Lily blushed on the memories from last night. Ollie was so... fantastic in bed with her. No one had ever made her feel that way before and Oliver hadn't even tried hard. They just clicked. She wished they could go on clicking like that, but she wasn't a fool. Even if Oliver truly fell for her - what she doubted he could do after everything he'd been through - there was still the case of her parents. Forget Romeo and Juliet, this would just be a disaster. Oliver had _dated _her mother! He'd loved her once! But it was over a hundred years ago, so it was ancient history. And it didn't bother Lily. It should have, but what she had with that man that was now holding her so firmly in his arms… it just felt right.

She had an headache, she was thirsty and hot, but she still didn't move. She rather take whatever time she could to be with him.

Eventually, he stirred and then she felt him releasing her from his embrace and turning on his back, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

He finally realized that she was there, in bed with him.

She expected more shocked reaction, but he just looked at her and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh, god," he murmured.

"Oliver?" she asked, gathering the sheet around her body and sitting up.

"Lily… I…" he stopped, then lowered his hands and finally looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"I used you when you were drunk and it was just despicable."

"You did not use me," she contradicted again. "I was fully aware of what was happening and I gave you my consent, because I wanted to. I still want to, but right now I'm just a little hangover."

Something resembling a moan came out of his mouth and he propped himself on his elbow, looking at her. "You've got to understand that… Lily, I'm not Connor. Whatever there was between us…" he started and she just needed to cut in.

"You think I went for you because you were his father?" Lily winced. "That's just… how can you think that way? I would never do something so awful!" the very thought of it repulsed her.

"So why are you here? Why are you in this bed?" Oliver just asked, clearly doing his best to understand her.

"I'm here because I want _you_," she suddenly said and then realized that she slipped. She meant to say wanted but somehow she said what she really felt. _She wanted Oliver Queen. _No one else but him. And then it only got worse, because she reminded herself of something. "Oh, God…" She closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. "Oh, my god!" she repeated in horror.

"What is it, Lily?" Oliver asked with care in his voice and reached his hand to her.

"Don't touch me!" she suddenly yelled and recoiled from him. "I might not imagine I was with Connor, but you did imagine me as my mother, didn't you?" she finally asked bitterly and looked at him. She was hurt, he could tell.

"What?" he asked, frowning. "What are you…"

"I overheard a conversation between my parents a while ago before my father was split and… my mother said to him that you kissed her when she saved your life. She emphasized that it didn't mean anything to her, but to you… Are you still in love with her?" Lily asked, looking at Ollie with resentment. "How could you use me like that?!" she screamed, suddenly feeling sick. And her head ached. And she desperately wanted water. And…

She jumped off the bed and quickly gathered her clothes. Before she managed to leave the room while sobbing, Oliver was there, grabbing her arms and forcing her to stand still and look at him. And he was totally naked what bothered her as well, because her body liked that, she liked what she saw and she wanted more. There were so many things they could do and… She swallowed, feeling like she would choke.

"I did not even once thought you were Jessica," Oliver said in a clear voice when still holding her in place. "I might've slept with you, yes, but I did it because I wanted to, not because I wanted something else that I couldn't get. And yes, I did kiss her, but my marriage with Chloe had been failing for quite some time. Whatever we'd had was gone and I thought… that maybe I'd married the wrong girl, but no. I am positive now that I have no feelings for your mother. I haven't for almost a century. Do you understand that?" he asked, emphasizing almost every word.

Lily just stood there, motionless, listening to what he was saying. The part where his chest met his neck was at the level of her eyes, so she just stared at it, having no strength to look up into his eyes.

"I… I understand," she finally said in such a feeble voice that he could barely hear her.

"Good. Now… This doesn't change the fact that it shouldn't of happened. I'm sorry."

"Don't treat me like a child, Oliver," she told him as he turned around in search for his pants. His ass was also a delicious… _focus_, Lily scolded herself. "I am as much an adult as you are and you know it!"

"Still, what we did… considering everything that happened… considering my history with the Luthors… it was wrong and it can't happen again," Oliver said when finally putting his pants on.

"Don't you want it to?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter what I want," he told her when looking at her again. At least it wasn't a firm no, she thought. "It's just not right. This would screw our lives even more."

"So we'll just pretend nothing happened?" she asked bitterly. "Is that what you want? Fine!" She was beyond angry now and she wanted to hurt him like he was hurting her. And she needed that darn VA so the hammering in her head would stop and she needed to drink some fucking water! "Let's not risk it, let's just part and never speak to each other again! Good luck with your miserable life, Oliver! Come back to your meaningless drinking! Why should I care?! You could end up in a very bad place, but you know what?! I'm done! Stupid genes!" she kept on yelling. "Why can't I just get interested in someone sweet and nice?! But no! It has to be someone who's absolutely not right for me! Who has a past and is going through a bad… Argh! It's like my mom and dad all over again with the slight difference that they are together and happy!"

"Lily…" Ollie started, quite surprised by the sudden outburst.

"No! Cut the crap! I'm out of here!" she said and went to the door.

"I'm nothing like Lex!" he screamed after her.

"Sure you're not! At least he finally gave in and admitted that he wanted my mom! Goodbye, Oliver!"

She left him just standing there, gaping at the door through which she just walked out on him.

Even if she didn't give him the right example, he knew he might've been a little like Lex. He was a murderer too. He'd even killed him. He'd caused Jessica so much pain while doing it and then… So what that Lex had actually come back? That didn't change the fact that Oliver was a murderer. Just like Lex was. And he hated Lex just like Lex hated him.

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_Jessica_

As I was walking down the corridor, I suddenly heard some strange and very… unpleasant noises. Noises that reminded me of something… Something bad… Something…

I pushed the door to the study open and witnessed an awful thing. Maybe I should've destroyed the video, but I hadn't got around to do it. It was just too… painful and sick to watch Lex in that position. _Mine _Lex. The Lex that had spent those last hundred years sleeping with only me. At least until his evil self came along.

Lex was sprawled in a leather armchair, his jacket shed, tie loosened, a glass half-full of whiskey in his hand and a laptop on his legs. He was watching the video Eve Tessmacher had sent me. The sex video.

He gulped down the rest of the alcohol and then, he suddenly crashed the glass in his hand, cutting himself.

"Lex!" I chose that moment to call his name and he shut the laptop down quickly. "Lex, what are you doing?!" I got to him and put the laptop on the table, then I crouched by him, gently took his hand in mine and opened it. Blood spilled.

"Lex, it wasn't you," I told him when looking into his haunted eyes. "Not really."

"But it was, Jessica. It was the other part of me," the nearly strangled answer came.

"We'll talk about it. Just wait a sec…" I said and ran to the bathroom. I needed to get some first aid kit.

When I came back with it, I took Lex's hand again and began slowly clearing his wound and then dressing it. He didn't hiss even once. Apparently, physical pain was what he needed right now to dull the emotional one.

"All done," I said when I was ready and then I gently kissed that hand.

"Jessica…" that was it. He just said my name. Still, it was a call for help, it was a question whether I would ever be able to get past this, past what I'd seen on the video. And now he saw it too.

"Someone very smart told me once that every single person has two parts, even the most noble one," I told him.

"Clark?" Lex asked, his voice strained. Of course, whom else could he suspect?

"Emil Hamilton," I corrected him.

"Oh, the guy whose girlfriend I killed. By the way, she was my sister," Lex said in a cruel voice.

"Lex, you can't just keep…"

"What? This is me. You know what I did once I found out about my actions when being split? Instead of mourning my sister and feeling sorry for hurting Oliver, the last person I could afford to hurt, I… I just took off and hurt Clark, because he seduced you. And I… I am, in fact, much worse. No wonder you had sex with him." Now he was clearly aiming for hurting us both.

"All right, you know what?! I'm done!" I stood up and raised my voice. He looked up at me with panic in his eyes. Did he think I was done with him? "I'm done with it! I'm done accepting this!"

"Jessica, I wouldn't blame you if…"

"Will you just listen to me?!" I snapped at him. "I'm done, because I am more guilty than you are! Do you have any idea how much _I _screw up?!" I asked him and saw how stupefied he was. I had his attention, so I continued, "I wasn't split! It was _me_, all right?! Mopey, depressed me! I didn't know what was happening to me that I didn't feel for you anymore and… I let him in. I let Clark in and… Do you want the whole truth?! I let him fucking in and he fucking hurt me and I fucking liked it! There you go! I felt as guilty as I could and still, _I liked it_! The moment it was over I didn't anymore, but… And don't you forget about that time you were dead! I slept with both Clark and Oliver and… What does this makes me? A whore! A fucking whore! That's all who I am! And I am freaking sorry for that!"

"You are not a whore," came the firm and calm answer from Lex and then he stood up, facing me.

"Then you're not that evil too!" I kept on screaming. "Don't you see what we're doing?! I keep blaming myself for what happened and then you do the same and you go around hitting people and cutting your contacts and watching the sex videos you shouldn't be watching and… What good does it do to us? We don't move forward. We don't… we don't do anything productive! We just sit and mope about the past! This is not a way to live! We need to move on, Lex. And we need to do it together. I can't imagine myself any other life than this one I have with you."

He cupped my face and looked me deep in the eye. "I only saw that, because… I needed… I needed to know what I did exactly. I don't remember everything and I just…" he started explaining himself.

"I know, I never thought you'd be watching it for the pure joy of it," I said sarcastically.

"Exactly. In fact, it disgusted me. Eve Tessmacher disgusts me," Lex confessed.

"Good, she'd better! Now… can we promise to each other not to dwell on the past anymore? Can we just move on and live the way we used to? Together, happy and in love?" I asked, putting my hands around his neck and getting closer until my lips were almost touching his.

"Yes," he simply answered.

"Good, now just fuck me already." I crashed my lips against his and there was nothing gentle about it. "Ravish me," I spoke to his ear in my seductive voice and I felt him harden against me.

I didn't have to wait long for the result. I suddenly found myself lying on the carpet on the floor in front of the fireplace and Lex was stripping me fast and effectively. When I was left only in my panties, he just ripped those off. I'd got used to it a long time ago, but sometimes I still felt sorry for all that beautiful lingerie. I guessed I would have to find something equally beautiful… or start buying more panties of the same design.

Soon I forgot all about that, because Lex was taking his shirt off and I saw his chest and ran my fingers through it, grazing his nipples, earning a grunt of satisfaction from his mouth and then he latched onto my breasts. I undid his pants and freed his cock, stroke him a few times and he was already plunging into me, going hard right away, fucking me mercilessly. After all, I asked him to.

I forgot about everything else. I forgot about the problems, the dead, the whole world. Lex was all that existed and I never wanted to feel differently. I was just so happy that my love for him was there as it'd used to. I would never take it for granted. I woke up every day and felt the panic which then settled back into peace and content once I felt how much I still loved him. More and more with every day till the day we… Only we probably wouldn't die, I corrected myself.

His arms were around me, his cock moving inside me, still fucking me hard, his balls hitting against my ass. Our breaths, our sweat, all of it, becoming one. I could do nothing else, I could just feel.

"Lex… Lex…" The sound of his name. That would never grow old or dull for me. I would always love it, cherish it, keep tasting it when it was coming from my mouth.

"Jessica…" he answered me in an equal fervor.

I never wanted to be apart from him. I always wanted to feel him, his body. I wanted to touch his soul. To give him everything that was me and in return, accept everything that was him.

He grabbed my legs and raised them, placing them on his shoulders.

"Good?" he asked.

"Oh… yeah…" I moaned as he kept on fucking me.

It was so deep that it was excruciating and amazing in the same time. It was more than I seemed to handle, but not because he hurt me, he did not. He never had. I just felt more of him inside, like he was truly a part of my body. After so many years together, we better be one. Inseparable.

I started coming. Very hard. It dragged on, affecting my limbs and my belly and… just everything. I moaned as I let it go, as I was clenching ruthlessly around his cock.

But he was still going. He kept on rasping and wincing his face - an indication that he was stopping himself from coming with every fiber of his will power, of his being. Both our bodies were completely wet now, our skin slapping together, the smell of sex and sweat filling the room. But he still kept on going.

I understood why and I also loved it. I knew I would be very sore later, but with Lex everything was worth it. It was worth the climax, the big ending. And I felt the second one approaching very fast and I got there. Thanks to him.

Finally, on feeling my muscles trying to milk him the second time, he let go, spilling his semen inside of me and then kept on rocking into me with his after spasms. After that, he collapsed into my open arms and I embraced him tightly, my hand on the back of his smooth and wet head, caressing it gently. My legs tingling as the circulation was going back.

We didn't move for a very long time until the wetness and stickiness inside me became unpleasant. His cock that was still there was blocking the sperm that wanted to flow out of my body.

He felt it. He knew me all too well, so he finally rolled off of me, but I immediately followed and snuggled into his chest.

"So, we're moving on," I said, still breathing heavily.

"Yes, we do. You're right. We need to stop digging in the past," Lex agreed.

The heat from the fireplace we were lying next to was making it even hotter for us, but we didn't move. It was so good to just lie, spent, in his arms. I always liked that. It was as good as sex with him. Love needed that kind of intimacy as well.

"I'm sorry that we've had a crisis in our marriage," he said, "but we survived it and it's all that matters. We are still here. We are still together. Nothing will ever break us apart. What would you say…?" he suddenly stopped, his voice trailing off.

"What?" I asked, looking up at his face. "Finish that question."

"No. I remembered that you said you didn't want to do it again," he said.

"Don't want to do what exactly?" I prompted. "Tell me."

"I just had that foolish idea that maybe we could have another baby to cement what we have. To become one in that little person again, but… forget it. It's all right. I know you said you never wanted to have children again."

I didn't say anything at first, because I suddenly started thinking hard. It was true that I'd said that, but… somehow I'd grown even more. I matured more, if that was possible after hundred plus years. Maybe…

"Let's do it," I found myself saying before I would change my mind.

"What?" Lex asked in shock and he sat up. "Are you serious?"

"Why not?" I followed his example and raised myself.

"This is just the sex talking," he told me. "Think about it when you're not after two amazing orgasms."

I laughed. "No, seriously, I want to do this. I really want to." I looked at his naked body and I felt something stirring inside of me. I could have another child. We could have it. We loved each other and there wasn't really any other way to get closer. "If you could handle me being fat again," I teased him.

"Jessica, I love you. I do not care about your look," he told me when putting a hand to my cheek.

"Even if, VA will make all the stretch marks and fat nonexistent afterwards."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" he asked again, ignoring the joking tone in my voice.

The look in his eyes. The love and the hope. It was enough to make me say yes and never take it back. I wanted to give him a baby. Hell, I wanted to give myself his baby. I'd used to think of them as trouble, but I grew up. I didn't want to wait for my grandchildren. I needed one more person to love unconditionally. And love for a baby would do just that to me. I didn't forget the feeling I'd got when Alex and Lily had been born. Even when they'd still been in my belly, I'd loved them. I'd loved them so much and it had been so new and wonderful for me to just love someone like that when I hadn't even got to know them yet.

When I looked at things now, from a bigger perspective, I saw that motherhood was something beautiful. Something worth experiencing.

"It'll be perfect and you know why? This time we don't have to work so much as we did… or you did…" I corrected, "when Lily and Alex were born."

"Well, I didn't want to strain you with work…" Lex defended himself.

"It's all right. Now we can be in this equally together."

"Yes."

"I need to get off my birth control, so this can take some time."

"We have all the time in the world, honey," he assured me and kissed me deeply, lovingly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 08**

_Jessica_

There wasn't a place in the mansion we hadn't been screwing in yet.

In the shower when Lex took me from behind.

In the Jacuzzi in a bubbly water.

In the kitchen on the counter when we were about to get breakfast as the staff had a free day.

On his pool table.

In the sauna…

* * *

_Lily_

She was hurt, but she did understand Oliver. She'd known from the beginning that if there was ever somethingbetween them, it would just be temporary. There couldn't be anything serious. The timing just wasn't right. So not right. He'd told her that the other morning and she'd just stormed out of the hotel room, crying. She hated herself for being so weak. Why couldn't she just have a meaningless sex? Only her problem was that sex needed to mean something, she had to want it, want the person she was about to do it with. If she didn't, she didn't enjoy it. Men could screw around for the pure joy of coming inside a woman, some women could do that too for an orgasm, but Lily wasn't one of them. If she didn't feel something, she simply wasn't aroused.

And now she found herself in a pickle.

She knew the best thing to do would be to just try to forget about Oliver and move on, but she didn't know where her life was going anymore and what she was supposed to do with it now. It'd taken her a hundred years to discover that there was something between her and Connor, but when she looked at it now, there had never been actually enough to build a solid relationship. And she wanted solid. She wanted what her parents had had for so long now and it never seemed to die. She wanted it all.

Maybe she was just a spoilt Luthor brat, but her father had taught her to always go for everything in life if she could. There were no limits for her. She knew he just wanted her to be happy. Could he accept her being happy with Oliver, then? Maybe with time… Only she was in a place where she wasn't sure if even her mother would be able to accept that. She'd barely managed to accept Connor and when adding Oliver to that crazy mix…

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Hundred plus years and the only person who seemed to change her life, make it bright and happy, to make it mean something more was Oliver Queen. She couldn't fight it. It just happened. It was like love from the first sight when she'd walked into that bar.

She needed to try. She needed to at least go there and make sure they'd left things on good terms. Maybe, just maybe…

She should believe in fate. She of all people had the proof that some things were really meant to be. Her parents were together against all odds, even against death. Why couldn't she just get this one thing her heart and her body seemed to desire?

She took another deep breath and then knocked on Oliver's apartment door.

She needed to wait a few long seconds before he finally opened, but he did. And he also opened his mouth in surprise. "Lily," he finally said. "What are you doing here?"

She could tell he was nervous. Too nervous, so maybe it was a good sign for her?

"Ollie, I…" She realized that before they slept together she'd never called him Ollie, it had always been Oliver and earlier on Mr. Queen. It was a good change. A change that indicated they were closer. "I just think we left things in a really bad place," she finally said what she came to say. "We need to smooth it up. I'm sorry… I had no right to say those things about you and my father and… I had no right to make comparisons. I was just… angry," she spilled it all out and now there was nothing left but to wait for his response.

"Come in," he just said, opening the door wider for her. "You want a drink?" he asked, but then stopped himself. "Sorry, that was just an habit. But maybe water?" he suggested instead.

"No, thanks, I'm fine."

"Lily, I… I'm sorry about a few things too," he admitted, just standing there in front of her, his hands tuck into the pockets of his jeans. "I shouldn't have made you feel like you were a replacement. Even more, I shouldn't have asked about… you know, that Connor thing. I should've known better. You're not that kind of a girl."

"You mean a sick one?" she asked, but then she thought it was a really bad attempt at joking from her part. "Sorry, you just make me really nervous."

He laughed, but there was something nervous in that laugh as well.

"Yeah, same here… Listen… Oh, God," he suddenly sighed. "The truth is that I don't know what to say," he admitted when scratching his head. "I…" He spread his hands. "I can't really say we could be friends and move on, because that just can't happen. Not really… Nothing can happen between us again, because it's all just too complicated."

"Just answer one question," Lily asked, determined to have what she came here for. She needed to know. "What if you'd met my family after my parents were happily married? After I came to this world and grew up?"

"Your father wouldn't have been dead in the first place," Oliver noticed.

"I don't blame you," Lily assured him. "You did what you had to do and I know that he was evil once. The important part is that he came back and you deeply regretted killing him."

"Lily…" Oliver said and then again, he stopped. He was too damn nervous around this girl and he had no idea why. Well, he might have an inkling, but he refused to go there. He couldn't. Not ever. Although he wanted that very much. Too much… What was he saying?

"You still haven't answered my question. You've dodged it," Lily wasn't giving up.

Could she just let it go already? Oliver thought, feeling even more ill at ease.

"What if there was no Luthor-Queen everlasting feud? What if my mother was happily married to my father? What if you just met them and met me at the same time?" she kept on prompting.

"What's the point in answering that?" Oliver just asked.

"Amuse me."

She was standing there, all jittery, waiting for him to say it, but he couldn't. Wouldn't. Saying it would make it all that much more real. And he was scared of real. He wasn't sure how much more real he could handle at this point, because the truth was that ever since he'd met her in that bar that memorable night, he couldn't stop thinking about her. _Her, Lily_. He kept seeing her big green eyes, her beautiful red hair, he kept imagining how she would look like naked and then, once he'd actually seen her naked and taken her, it exceeded all his expectations and he found himself being too far gone, begging for more. He couldn't let himself get lost in her again. That would come with a cost he wasn't ready to pay. It just wasn't right.

"I won't answer that question," he told her in a hard voice. "I won't, because that fantasy world doesn't exist and it never will! We're here! And this is reality! Deal with it!" he hissed.

"We're doing it again. We're arguing. And it all seem to be my fault, again."

"Because you refuse to listen to me! You refuse to respect my decision!" Oliver screamed, making a few steps toward her.

"And you think I'm a fucking child!" Lily yelled back, not at all affected by his outburst.

"No, I think you're a beautiful woman, because I actually saw you in a completely different light that night in a bar!"

They were angrily sizing each other up.

"All right then. This is me respecting your decision," Lily finally said. What else could she do? She tried, at least she could give herself that. "Goodbye, Oliver."

She turned to the door with a clear intention to leave when she suddenly felt his hand grabbing her arm and whirling her around, her mouth crashing against his.

She could just stand there, surprised at that turn of events. She couldn't understand this infuriating man who didn't seem to know what he wanted! One moment he was telling her to leave and the next he was…

"Mphmmm…" she moaned into his lips as they devoured her, tasted her. As his tongue slip inside and tangled with her own. What was she thinking anyway?

Her arms went around his neck on their own, then her fingers buried in the gorgeous soft blond hair of his. His hands were on her hips, bringing her closer so she could feel his growing erection and then raising her up so she could put her legs around his waist. His cock directly grazing against her core. They were clothed, but they could feel all right.

"God, Oliver…" Lily moaned again when his lips descended to caress her neck, to suck on her raging pulse and to lick and to… What was he doing now? She didn't care. It felt amazing.

He carried her somewhere and then she found herself being sat on a kitchen counter.

"It's closer than the bedroom," he told her when he stopped kissing her and their eyes met.

She didn't say anything to that, she just pulled on his shirt instead. Why was he wearing shirts anyway? He looked so much better without any.

She didn't want to wait around and waste time. She was afraid he would wake up again and tell her it was all a mistake.

He didn't though. As soon as his shirt was out of the way and Lily was running her hands through the smooth and muscular texture of his chest, he began undressing her. First the blouse was gone and then another green bra, but this time of a different design. Her breasts were bare to him and he cupped them, massaging them, his thumbs stroking her erected and sensitive nipples. Her head went backwards and rested on the hard wood of a cupboard that was there, but she couldn't care less. Then she felt his lips on her breasts, sucking gently and licking and…

She began grazing her core against the hard bulge in his pants, because she couldn't stand this tension any longer.

Oliver smiled and then kissed her lips again, running his tongue along her bottom lip.

She felt her jeans being taken off and then her underwear and…

He crouched, his head now on the level of her thighs.

She wouldn't complain about this either.

Then she felt like she died and went to heaven. Oliver was licking her core, parting her nether lips, sticking his tongue…

"God, so good…" Lily kept on moaning and wiggling. "Oliver… Ollie…" she kept saying his name and it was almost unbearable for him. He was still in conflict, but whenever he saw that girl, he needed to have her like his all being depended on it. So he just sucked on her, tasting her. He teased her clit with his tongue, then added his finger…

He could feel her coming as she trashed against him, delicious sounds coming from her mouth.

He stood up, feeling very uncomfortable in his tight pants, then wiped his mouth into his shirt that was lying next to Lily on the counter.

"I love the way you taste," he told her when looking into her beautiful green eyes.

"Then it's my turn," she said with sparkles in them.

He gulped. It was all too good to be true.

But it was, nevertheless, the truth. Lily jumped off the counter and pushed him against it, then squatted and freed his hard member. She placed a kiss on the tip and then took it in, sucking on it and twirling her tongue around it.

He was already too far gone. He was sure he would come any second now, but he tried to hold on. These tortures felt too good.

She was cupping his balls and squeezing them gently when letting him fuck her mouth. She couldn't let him go in too deep in fear of gagging, but he didn't mind. Her sucking and that amazing thing she was doing with her tongue was way better anyway.

* * *

_Jessica_

And we screwed in the garden - almost got caught by a gardener, but it was all worth it. Lex's naked body bathed in the sunlight was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. He was probably thinking the same about me, but that was only natural. We loved each other. And we wanted to have another child together. It felt so good. This decision was so right. Everything seemed right in the universe again.

Those thoughts made me fear of what could come to ruin it, but then I scolded myself. Why would something come? Couldn't we, just for once, be happy?

Then we screw in the study again and just when I finished and Lex was filling me in with his semen, someone walked inside.

"I… Oh! Oh, my god! I'm sorry!" I recognized Imra's voice and then the door was closed again.

"Oops…" came from Lex who was now finally done.

"Are you kidding me?!" I yelled at him, pushing on his biceps so he would get off me and I could dress. "You forgot to lock the door, your dumb ass!"

"Dumb ass?" he burst into laughing when he finally pulled away, putting his pants back on. Lucky bastard, I hadn't managed to tear the shirt off him, I'd only opened it. Now I was the one who ended up completely naked and needed more time to dress.

"Nothing better comes to my fuzzy mind at the moment! How could you forget to lock the fucking door?!" I snapped at him again.

"You know you're sexy when you're mad?" he told me, watching me putting my clothes back on.

"Don't even think about it!" I warned him, pointing my finger at him. "I know that look! You want sex again and I'm not up to it! I forgot about my lunch with Imra because of you!"

"Because of me? You could've said no and actually… yes, you were the one who came on to me!"

"What if that was Lily or Alex who walked in on us?"

"They would've got over it."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes, Jessica, they're our children and they are perfectly aware of our potent sexual life," the answer from Lex came.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"I think we're a pretty screwed up family," I finally stated my opinion.

"I'd rather think we're a healthy one," Lex disagreed.

"Well, it might've not been our children, but that was your future daughter in law," I said, pointing the door. "And she's just seen your naked ass!"

"She won't be scarred forever. My ass is not that bad," Lex defended himself. "You seem to love it very much and quite frankly, how am I supposed to remember about the stupid lock on the door when I have you around to distract me?" he asked and walked over to me, taking me into his arms. "You're so beautiful, Mrs. Luthor," he said and kissed me.

I was all for kissing. In fact, it dragged on for too long and if I didn't stop it now, then we would end up having sex again.

"Ok, not right now," I said and placed my hands on his chest to push him away. "I'm way too sore and soon I won't be able to walk."

"I'm sorry, we can slow down," he said, this time meaning it.

"It's all right. Just one of the perks of being a woman," I huffed. "Now, didn't you have some meeting in JeXCorp?"

"I did… I have… in about…" he glanced at his watch, "half an hour." He winced.

"Then go. And before that you might want to take a shower and change your clothes. You're all sweaty and sticky," I advised him.

"After all we've just done…" Lex started, feeling offended.

"Lex, I love it," I assured him, "but I don't think other businessmen in the room will enjoy the sight of a thoroughly fucked man."

"Thoroughly fu… isn't that an epithet for a woman?"

"I can say whatever I want and the fucking… it was mutual." I winked at him.

"Sure it was. I love that you're never one of those women that just lie there and…"

"Go! Or I'll kick your gorgeous ass from here to Metropolis, so you won't be late for that meeting!"

He laughed and gave me another kiss, then he finally walked out of the study.

* * *

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I apologized to Imra when I finally got to her. We went out to the garden to have that lunch. Not that garden, like every other place in this mansion, didn't make me think of certain sexual activities…

"It's alright," she just said.

"You could've seen worse things than my husband's ass anyway," I laughed, agreeing with her.

"True," Imra admitted. "But I've got to tell you that Lex have a very nice ass."

I laughed again. I seemed to be so happy those days that the dark past was completely forgotten.

"You do know that you're actually dating his son, don't you?" I asked.

"Damn it! It's all so confusing when we can live indefinitely! You shouldn't be my best friend, you should be my mother in law!"

"Nah, I'll never be that," I said, "after all the circumstances we kept meeting in in the past…"

"Yeah…"

"Actually, usually we're more careful with Lex. Now we're just… We're trying for a baby," I confessed. I needed to tell someone. It felt so much better to be able to get it out. I wanted to share my joy with everyone around it.

"Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! So that is why…" Imra started, but then I cut in.

"Oh, no, we're always like that, just more careful. We keep fucking… Sorry, I guess you don't really want to know such things about the parents of your boyfriend," I stopped before I got into any details.

"No, it's fine. It's not like I treat you like his parent… How do you do this?" Imra suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you had a little… some problems… recently," she said as delicately as she could. "But it wasn't Lex's fault, so… how do you keep it up? How do you keep the flame alive? How do you know that you'll never get bored with each other?"

"Well, we should be bored, shouldn't we?" I thought about it. "We know each other better than anyone, but…" I shrugged. "It's just there. I just know it deep in my heart. Every time I look into his eyes or just see him… I just know it. I love him so much it hurts sometimes, but it's the good kind of hurt in your heart. Do you understand?" I made sure.

"I… To be honest, I'm not sure," Imra admitted. "Would you hate me if I said that I'm still not sure if that it's something I have with Alex?"

"No, of course not. You're my friend and you'll always be. It doesn't matter if you're with my son or not."

"I love him, I do," Imra said, "but sometimes… I just don't know. The perspective of forever kind of terrifies me. Was that your case too?" she wanted to know.

"No," I admitted, because it was the truth. "We were actually afraid that we wouldn't have enough time and the moment the VA worked, we couldn't be more happier. I got to spend my forever with the man I love more than anything. And in this context forever is not only one lifetime."

"I want to feel this too," Imra confessed and I could tell that she was embarrassed by it. Embarrassed that she still couldn't feel it with my son.

"You will, hon," I assured her when putting my arm around her and hugging her. "You will. Maybe it won't be with my son and that's ok too. That's just life. I want him to be happy, but if you wouldn't be, then I don't want you to suffer."

"I don't suffer. I really…" Imra tried to straighten out the situation.

"I know. You don't need to say anything."

I didn't tell her that, but I did have a bad feeling about her relationship with my Alex. I remembered how I'd reacted to first seeing Lex and it was love at first sight. I'd never stopped wanting him and I'd always wanted to commit to him fully. With Imra and Alex it was different. I could only hope she could find this with him. Who knew, maybe it didn't always happen at first, maybe sometimes it happened with time? Or maybe she would find another man and that was ok with me too. As a mother I didn't want to see my child suffering, but I wanted the best for him and if Imra wasn't it, then I wanted the kind of a girl for him that could give him that. And I wanted to still be Imra's friend.

* * *

_Lily_

"Yes, Oliver, Ollie… Ollie… yes!" He was finally inside her, getting hard again pretty fast after what she'd done to him with her mouth. And she never wanted him to leave her again or tell her to leave him for that matter.

He was still moving within her, clearly wanting to give her a second climax. She wouldn't say no that that.

And she could feel it coming already. She could feel it building and… she was almost there… almost… and she screamed his name again. She couldn't scream anything else at this point, because his name was all she knew.

"Lily… yes, Lily…" he answered her and froze, then he started coming and she could feel his hot seed spilling inside her. He began riding his climax until the spasms subsided and he fell into her arms.

It was that moment when it came to her. It was like a lightning struck. She wanted him and no one else and if he left her again… she would be no more. She wanted her forever with him. She wanted to commit to him against all odds and against every obstacle. It was him. No one else but him.

"Lily…" he rasped into her ear, his head buried in her hair. "Lily…" he said one more time and then he pulled away and lay on his back by her side, reaching for her almost immediately so she could snuggle up into his chest.

She did it very eagerly and very happily. She listened to his heart beating, she stroked the skin on his chest, grazed his nipple with the tips of her fingers. He was so perfect, his body like it was chiseled. And she loved him so much. Not because of his beauty, but also because of his humanity and his heart. He was broken and she could fix him. If only he let her…

She felt like crying. She knew he was thinking again, trying to convince himself that it was all a bad idea and she couldn't stop him. She could only live and hope for the best. She could only hope he would decide to stay with her. Without him she was nothing. She had no idea how that happened, but once he'd stepped into that bar and seen her there, it was like destiny pulling them together. And she normally didn't hang out in bars. That was like onetime thing and… and he'd been there. And then she'd come back for him.

She finally understood that she found the kind of man she'd always been looking for. He was so close and yet so far away from her reach, but only he could give her the kind of happiness her father was giving her mother.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 09**

_Jessica_

_There was blood. A sea of blood. Blood spilling from the skies, blood running down the streets. The also bloody Sun was low on the horizon, looking like a menace, like our doom._ _People were screaming for help as some creatures with wings were eating them alive. Everyone was panicking. _

_ It was the End._

I woke up drenched and terrified, sitting up on my bed with a gasp. I was breathing heavily and then I looked around in panic. I got out of bed on the other side when jumping over Lex's body and got to the window. I pulled the curtains apart, but there was nothing wrong with the world. It looked just as I remembered.

"Jessica?" I heard Lex's drowsy voice and then he got to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Jessica, what is it? What happened?" he asked with care.

I leaned backwards into his body and he put his arms around me.

"I've had the most vivid nightmare and…" I stopped, it was still so fresh, so… real.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Lex asked into my ear and kissed my neck.

I turned around to face him.

"There was blood everywhere. It was like... It was the end, Lex. The very end of the world."

His hand went up to cup my cheek and then put a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Honey," Lex's soft voice spoke. "We've just found out that you're pregnant. Maybe it's only natural that you're more afraid now. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. We'll have this baby and we'll be happy. I promise."

"How many times did you tell me we would be happy and there was always something bad happening afterwards?" I asked. "Lex… I don't usually believe in dreams, but this was… this was somehow different… it was like I _felt _it. I can still feel it. What if it comes true?... Lex?" I asked, because I didn't like the look on his face. "Oh, my god, Lex! Something _is _already happening, isn't there? Tell me! You've got to tell me what that is!"I demanded.

"Jessica, please, just calm down," Lex kept speaking in a shooting voice, running his hands up and down my arms. "I've known for some time about… but it's nothing, really. I didn't tell you right away because I was afraid you'd get worried and the baby would be in danger."

"You're still afraid," I realized. "Every time I'm pregnant, you're afraid. Lex, just because we lost our first baby it doesn't mean it will happen again. I got through my both previous pregnancies just fine. Besides, if you don't tell me, I'll only worry more. So? What is it? What's happening?"

Lex closed his eyes and sighed.

"It's about the Sun," he finally said.

"The Sun?" I repeated, not really understanding. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Alex and I detected some… abnormalities."

"What kind of abnormalities?" I kept on prompting. "Lex, I'm your wife, god damn it! You owe me the truth!"

"I'm getting there," he said and pulled me back toward the bed where we both sat down, "I just want you to take care of yourself and try not to panic. Yours and the baby's health is the most important thing right now."

"I know that. Don't you worry about us. Just tell me." I could swear, one more second and I would start screaming at him. I knew he just wanted to protect me from any bit of stress there was, but he was exaggerating. I already forgot how infuriating he'd been when I'd been pregnant with Alex and then Lily. Lex had been nearly obsessed with our kids' health and been treating me like I'd been made out of paper. The only moments when I hadn't been angry with him in the past while pregnant were when we'd had sex.

"You know that Clark's powers come from the Sun," Lex finally relented and I nodded. "The VA takes energy from the Sun as well. Our cells are constantly regenerating, making us young forever because of the Yellow Sun. Well, hundred years of living this way, milliards of people taking the VA and not dying while having their own children… it kind of… drained the Sun," he explained.

"What do mean _drained_?!" I asked. That didn't sound good. That sounded like apocalypse. It was just like the Sun I'd seen in my dream.

"No star can last forever," Lex went on, "and the Sun would have eventually died out, in hundreds or even thousands of years, but the strain the VA puts on it…"

"It can die _now_?" I asked, interrupting him.

And he expected me not to panic?!

"No, it may happen in a few years and it will be a very slow process. Nothing as drastic as your dream will happen, I promise you. No blood, no screaming. There is also something else. Honey, I don't want you to worry, because I have a back-up plan. I always do."

"What kind of a back-up plan?" I asked. Tonight I seemed to be repeating everything after him like a parrot, but it was a lot to take in.

"Even if the worst case scenario comes into life, even if we lose this Earth… I found a planet that we can inhabit. We already have the technology to begin our life on other planets, so we can just go there."

"Are you serious? We'll just… fly off to another… _planet_?" I asked, not really believing it. I knew about the technology, JeXCorp was ours after all, but to use it so fast…

"My scientists in collaboration with other species from out of space made sure it's possible. That planet has a very young sun and we can live underneath it. There's water. It's like Earth really, it looks differently, but the conditions are the same."

"That's… that's a miracle," I gasped. "Is it… inhabited?"

"No, our species did not originate there. Jessica, with the right technology, the universe is wide opened to us."

"What about other species? The Bridge between worlds is opened after all."

"Thanks to Clark we all live in peace and the other species do not want to see us die out. Humans are as valuable for the future generations as any other race. We're already taking trips to other planets, some of us even stay there, some of them stay here too."

"Lex, I know and I get it, I do, but… don't you think we kind of need… Clark?" I dared ask. "He is the one with the knowledge about the universe."

"And we have it all archived in JeXCorp," Lex said in a hard voice.

"I know, but don't you think… if the end is coming… we need him. We need Superman. We need his powers."

"I can deal with it all on my own. I admit that finding this planet was Clark's idea. So typically of him, he felt guilty for giving us the greatest gift through VA and watch the Earth being too crowded, so he suggested moving to another planet, a planet that has no ruling life form. He was the one to suggest that particular galaxy and we found the Earth Two," Lex explained, his voice mocking the person of Clark. Well, there was some true in that, Clark did feel guilty about almost everything.

I didn't want to push though. I knew that even talking about Clark was painful for Lex. If Eve Tessmacher could help us and Lex asked me if that was a good idea, I knew what I would feel. I would say no. I would say that we could deal with it alone. With Clark it was even worse, so I didn't push.

I kind of missed my best friend, I realized. Maybe it was because of the hormones, but once I found out I was actually pregnant, I wanted to tell my family and my friends. I wanted Clark and Lois to be there, so I could share the news with them too. I even wanted Oliver. Instead, I got to tell Lex, our children and Imra. I didn't even tell Emil because I thought it could be painful for him.

Why was it all so hard?

* * *

I was in JeXCorp with Lex, checking up the Earth Two case and after having analyzed everything, I thought it could actually work.

"Of course, we can't tell people yet, so this information cannot leave this room," Alex said and I was so proud of him. He'd turned out great, even better than his father considering the lack of straying from the right path. Now I saw that he was also a born leader. Together with Lex they could really save this world and I couldn't be more proud of my son and my husband.

"We'll tell them when it gets bad and we need to start evacuating people. We need to keep tabs on them all too. We need to know about every death and every birth. Quite frankly, I'm a little worried that we won't be able to prepare a plan to save them all in time," Lex shared his fears with us.

"We still have a few years," I said, "we'll do the best we can. Lex…" I started and stopped. I somehow couldn't say it. He would just shut me down again, I knew it. And I also knew he had the right to do so.

"What is it?" he asked me anyway, seeing that something was clearly bothering me.

I knew how we could buy more time, how we could help them all, but Lex wouldn't see it that way. We needed Clark. He was the most powerful being on this Earth.

"I just think… we don't have enough people with powers," I finally said.

"We have the Legion. They're enough," Alex followed with his answer. "Dad thinks so too… and speaking of witch," he pointed the other side of the room when Imra, Rokk and Garth just walked through.

"Do you need us to do something else, Lex?" Imra asked, not really looking him in the eye.

It was actually very amusing for a person who knew what their issue was, meaning me. They were talking like always, but Imra clearly had troubles with looking my husband straight in the eye. It must've been the fact that she'd caught us having sex and the only significant part of any body she'd seen was Lex's bottom.

"No, it would be all for now. Rokk, as for you, I need to ask you about a few things, so you can stay. We need another opinion concerning our strategy."

"Of course, sir," Rokk said and walked over to Lex's desk.

I, for a change, made my way to Imra.

"Still not able to forget that faux pas?" I asked, winking at her.

"Oh, you're cruel! It's not funny!"

"You know well that Lex doesn't think much of it and you may as well just look at him."

"I will, ok? I just need… to get used to it."

"Better eyes than ass." I burst out laughing and earned a gentle swat on my arm from Imra.

"How's the baby? Are you feeling all right?" she asked when walking out of the room with me.

I caught a glimpse of Rokk's face, looking at her from the other side of the room and something struck me. Could it be that…

"Hah?" I asked Imra, because I realized that I didn't catch her last question.

"I was just asking if you found out the sex yet," she repeated. "It's really annoying, you know? You just keep getting distracted by the same man with whom you've already been for so long!"

"True love never dies," I told her even though it wasn't actually Lex that I was looking at. Not that I didn't want to and not that I did want to look at Rokk more, it was just… No, I couldn't possibly ask Imra about that one.

"We did found out, actually," instead, I finally answered her question. "It's a girl."

"Congratulations!" Imra said with a huge smile on her face. "I'll be an aunt!... Did you want a girl?" she asked again after a moment.

"We never really cared about the sex of our baby," I answered, according to the truth. "We just want it to be healthy."

"Oh, Lex's still bothered by the fact that you lost the first one? It was so long ago."

"Yes," I admitted sadly. "But now with all the lost that we've experienced… I just don't want this baby to be lost like the first one either, so for once I'm going to listen to Lex and take a proper care of myself."

"Haven't you been doing that before?"

"Well, I have, but… Lex was so overprotective with Alex and Lily… He was constantly hovering over me, making sure I was feeling all right and that the babies were growing properly. It bothered me, but I do understand now that he was just afraid and that was the only way he could show that fear and love, by taking care of me."

"That's sweet on his own way," Imra admitted. "All right, I would love to chat more, but I really need to get going. We have a meeting with a meteor infected generation and I see I will have to look for Garth again. Rokk's here, he's always the responsible one whereas…" she sighed. "Sometimes I think that Garth will never stop being a kid," she complained.

"I know one who hasn't. His name's Bart."

Imra laughed. "Believe it or not, but I think he's Garth's best friend now."

"If they both have such influence on each other, then it's no wonder, really."

"Yeah, probably… all right. See you later! And take care of yourself!"

Imra disappeared and I turned back to peak into Lex's office again. Rokk was just leaving and closing the door behind him.

"I thought Imra was here," he said, looking around.

"She went to look for Garth," I told him.

"Typical." He shook his head. "That kid can't grow up. He's like Peter Pan."

"So I've been told… Rokk," I suddenly spoke to him, "can I ask you something… personal?" I dared.

"Eh… sure, I guess… What would you like to know?"

"I don't want to pry or be rude, but… how long exactly have you been in love with Imra?" I just shot.

I could see I surprised him with that question and thanks to that, I had my answer now.

"I'm sorry," I found myself apologizing. Maybe it wasn't the right move from my side. Maybe it was actually cruel.

"It's ok, really… I just… she's happy with Alex who happens to be your son, so…" Rokk's voice trailed off. I could tell he was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, there was never anything between me and Imra, so you don't have to worry."

"What do you mean? Why would I worry?"

"I just said that Alex is your son and I know you don't want him to get hurt or betrayed. I'm… I'm keeping my feelings to myself," Rokk assured me.

Suddenly, I felt sorry for him. He was a wonderful man, I knew that, and he deserved all the best.

"Rokk, I so did not mean it that way. I just… I'm sorry, it must be hard on you."

"I got used to the fact that I will never have her," he confessed. "And it's all right. I already have a lot with the Legion and… I do a lot of good for this world… I…" I was clearly making him uncomfortable.

"Maybe you should tell her," I said, surprising even myself.

"Are you serious?"

"I love my son, I do," I told Rokk. "But I also love Imra and I don't think she has the kind of love with Alex that she should experience. She's happy now, but… I'm not sure this relationship is the kind that's meant to last."

"Oh, I think it will," Rokk told me. "Trust me, I see how she looks at him. She never saw me in that light."

"If you say so…"

"I'm sorry, I really need to go now. I'll be late for a meeting and I can't give Garth that satisfaction," he said.

I smiled. "Sure you can't. Go."

It wasn't that I didn't want my son to be happy. Hell, I was his mother and I loved him very much. I just didn't see him and Imra as a true couple. Not the one I and Lex were. At first I was happy that they'd got together. I'd known Imra, so she wasn't some stranger. She was my dear friend and the idea of her and Alex had seemed really amazing. Now when the emotions dropped, I was just worried. I did look at them whenever I saw them together and there was something missing. I guessed I would have to leave that up to fate. It worked out well with me and Lex.

* * *

_Lily_

She was happy. In fact, the only thing that could make her even happier was him telling her that he loved her. She was patient, she wouldn't push. So far she just enjoyed that he wanted to be with her. That he didn't stop whatever there was between them from happening.

She was also always scared those days. Once she left his apartment, she was afraid. Once she came back again, she was still afraid. But once he let her in, kissed her, took her, she felt happy and exhilarated. He wanted her. This wasn't the day it would all end. She still had more time.

Until now…

She knew there was something wrong the moment she crossed the threshold of his apartment and found him sitting in a chair, looking into the distance blindly. It was a haunted look, a look that screamed warning at her.

"Oliver?" she asked, still hoping that maybe, just maybe, something else than their secretive relationship bothered him. "Ollie, what's wrong?" She closed the door and made her way to him. Once she looked at his face from up close, she lost all her hope. It was the end. She just knew it. She could feel it. She was already hurting because of it. "No," she just said, shaking her head. He didn't have to tell her anything. She just knew what that would be. And she didn't agree with him.

"Lily, I need to let you go," Oliver finally spoke, looking at her as she was now crouching by his chair. "I have no choice. I have to," his voice was strained and full of pain, but he still said it.

"Say what you really want to say," she challenged him, suddenly not hurt, she was just plain angry. She stood up and turned her back on him, folding her arms across her chest.

"I can't even take you for a proper date. We just can't do this anymore, Lily. I don't want to hurt you," he kept on.

She could feel he stood up and now was behind her, but something prevented him from touching her. She wished he had. At least then maybe she could use that to convince him they didn't have to end things.

"Too late," she said bitterly and faced him. She had tears in her eyes. "It's too late. You've already have."

"Lily…"

"Stop that! Stop saying my name!" she screamed and pushed him away, hating that she actually loved the feel of his chest beneath her fingers once she touched him.

"I can't let myself keep using you like this," he said, his voice unyielding. "Besides, how can you even imagine this? We can't be together. We can't stand against your whole family."

"Why are you worried so much about my family?! What we feel it's important!" she yelled at him when crying. She really hated herself for being that weak. "Ollie, I… I love you," she finally confessed, her voice breaking over those words.

He closed his eyes in pain. He was constantly fighting himself. But he needed to win and not touch her. He owed her that. She would be better off without him.

"Lily…" he started, coming closer again, but she made a step backwards.

"I told you to stop…"

"Lily, I love you too," he suddenly said what she wasn't prepared to hear. She stopped crying out of the sudden, she was in too big of a shock.

"You do?" she asked, looking into his hazel eyes in an awe.

"You'll never know how much," he confessed, meeting her green gaze. He wanted nothing more than to drown in the depths of it, to kiss her till the world ended, to keep her by his side forever, to keep burying himself inside her body every day, to just cherish her as long as he could. Only he couldn't, he reminded himself. It would be way too much to take for Jessica and for Lex and all of that after so many tragedies.

"I love you more than I have ever loved anyone," he repeated. "But that doesn't change the fact that we can't be together."

"Why not?! I don't get it!"

"This is not the life I want for you, Lily. You deserve better."

"Isn't this the same crap they all said to my mom when she married dad?! It's not about deserving! It's about love and being together!" she was fighting.

"And about choice," he added. It was getting harder for him to speak to her without breaking, but he couldn't let himself for any weakness. He needed to do this and what came later, he needed to deal with that too. "And I choose to let you go. You really have no idea how hard this is for me. I think… no, I am _sure_ that you are the one I've seemed to be always waiting for. I never imagined this kind of ending, but… it has to happen."

"But I finally found you," she protested silently.

"And I finally found you," he agreed. "But it's just not meant to be."

"How can you say that?!" she raised her voice again, sobbing. "If I'm the one after so many years… it's only meant to be!"

"No, the timing isn't right. In fact, nothing about this is right. You wanted to know what would have happened if I had met you along with your parents. I can answer that I would have loved you more than you could ever imagine. I would have loved and cherished you forever, but this is not that world. This is reality and the choices are hard."

"They don't have to be. They're only as hard as you make them," she said, suddenly feeling hate. She loathed him as much as she loved him. It was a bizarre combination and she felt like she was going to explode, but it was true.

"Lily, just… just go," he said, not really having any strength in himself left to argue. "GO!" he snapped at her.

She stood there and he could see the resentment on her face. Good, maybe that would help her get over him.

"I hate you!" she finally said and it hit him right in the heart. It might as well be bleeding, he thought. This pain was unbearable. It was the lost. He'd just lost the love of his life and it was all his fault.

But that didn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do.

Lily just left. Left his apartment. Left his heart. Left him.

Forever.

She left in pain and cried the whole way to her place. Her heart was beyond repair now, she realized when nothing could stop the pain. She could cry all she wanted, she could scream and toss things around, but nothing could dull that pain. Not even the VA.

She thought she'd had her heart broken a few times in the past, but she was wrong. This was a broken heart she had right now. She would've remembered that pain if she'd had ever felt it before. It was life shattering, it was exploding in her chest, splitting it in a half, her heart might as well be in a million pieces. She had no will to live. The only thing that could give her solace, the only person that could make it all go away had just left her and she would never get him back.

* * *

**AN: **Videos/promos:

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Youtube

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The end:

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watch?v=Eq5Ir5P0U4U

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Last Night on Earth, promo:

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watch?v=4VIxowPPju4

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full links in my profile


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

_Earth Two_

Millions of workmen were doing their best to raise an entire new civilization. They'd been living and creating on Earth Two for years now, in exchange, when the time came, they would be greatly rewarded by receiving a place to life and an eternal pay. It was all worth it in the long run. Especially, when people could live forever.

The research was still being done to make sure the VA would be working under the New Sun, but so far the prognosis was good. JeXCorp's scientists were even sure they could enhance the cure and also find alternative sources of energy, so this time the Sun would remain intact.

* * *

_Clark & Oliver_

They met on the streets of Metropolis, both arriving to help. Clark was faster, so he'd stopped an accident between it actually happened. A drunk driver was trying to pilot his shuttle, nearly hitting the other one that was in the air at that time. Oliver came when everyone was already saved to call 911 so that drunk would be charged for his crime.

"Not much to do here those days," he complained when coming over to Clark.

"We still have accidents to stop and… Dear God, did that sound like I was hoping for them to happen? Because I totally don't…" he quickly corrected himself.

"I get it, don't worry. I wish I had something to do as well," Oliver sighed in response.

"Is everything all right?" Clark suddenly asked, taking a good look at his friend's face. "You look awful."

Of course, he did, Oliver thought, he was depressed and the world could as well stop existing. To be honest, he really hoped he had an 'accident', so it would just end him. Only he didn't tell that to Clark. His friend already had a lot on his mind. It didn't matter that Oliver had just let the apparent love of his life go and was hurting more than ever before.

"You don't want to know," he avoided answering. "And how are you exactly? Lois's still not speaking to you?"

Clark wished he hadn't asked his question in the first place.

"I think she'll never speak to me again, much come back to me," he confessed. "And it hurts. It hurts so much. I can see Lara, but… I want to have it all. I have my family back."

Oliver didn't know what to really say to that, so he patted his friend's back in hope that Clark understood. He always did.

* * *

_Three Years Later_

_Jessica_

I was sitting in a chair near the window, holding my baby girl in my arms and looking into the sky. It was redder. The Sun had been gradually getting redder throughout the whole last year. Once people had started to notice, we'd called for a press conference and broken the news to them as smoothly as possible. They'd been panicking, but it was only to be expected. In fact, I'd felt the lost of Clark the most back there. I'd kept expecting him to just fly by and save the day. There had been questions asked about him not being there there and Lex had just said that Clark had had more important things to do regarding the upcoming apocalypse.

_The Apocalypse._ It sounded so awful.

I could watch the red sky now and imagine what it would be like when it started. It would be terrible. It'd already been when last month people had started panicking again. It still hurt when I thought that there had been over a hundred causalities. Superman had done what he could, but he couldn't safe all of them, I thought with a sigh.

I looked down on my beautiful baby girl and I worried even more. What kind of a world would she grow up in? Would she even remember this one? Would she only know about it from what we would tell her? From the pictures we would show her? It was so devastating.

I didn't care about myself at the moment, all I wanted was for this nearly three years old girl to have a happy life. I just wanted her to survive.

"She'll be fine, you know," I heard Lex's voice from behind.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked him when not moving to look at him, because I didn't want to wake Lutessa Lana Luthor. She was even given the names of the two women that we missed every day and would never get back. She was our precious baby. And to think I'd never wanted another one… Now she was everything to me. She was one of the last babies that would ever be born on this planet.

"Jessica," Lex came over to us and crouched by my side, looking me in the eye, "I promise you, we will all get away. We will manage to escape and start a life on Earth Two. At this rate nothing can go wrong."

"What if something does? Lex, you can't just keep making those promises. You can't predict the future," I told him. I was still being haunted by the recurring nightmare I'd been having when being pregnant. The bloody sky, the bloody rain, people screaming and dying in pain. It didn't look at all like the vision Lex had about the future.

"Whatever happens, we'll go through it together," Lex said, reaching to my face and kissing my lips, then placing a kiss on Tess's head.

"That you can promise." I smiled to him sadly. "I'll take Tess for a walk and once I'm back, we can pick up what we left in the bedroom this morning," I teased him, reminding him of how we'd been about to have sex when the baby had started screaming and I needed to go to her.

Lex smiled back to me.

"Oh, yes, I would like that very much."

I blushed when thinking about all those things we'd been doing since… forever, I guessed. The recent crazy thing Lex had done was to actually taste the milk from my breasts. It wasn't good as I remembered him wincing, but the process itself had been hot for the both of us… Ok, I needed to stop thinking about sex, because I wouldn't get through any walk at this rate.

"Oh, hi," we heard Lily stepping into the room. "I was just wondering if you wanted me to take Tess," she suggested.

As much as it was tempting, I needed some time with my daughter for a change. I was the one to give birth to her - even if it was a c section - and Lily seemed to be spending the most time with her. It was weird really, like she had nothing else to do but taking care of the baby. Not that I was complaining, it gave me and Lex more time for each other than when I'd had my previous children, but it was still weird.

"It's all right, Lily, you're not our nanny. You can take the night off," I said when getting up. Lex gently took Tess from me, so she wouldn't wake up and start crying.

"I can put her in the stroller," he offered.

"Great, thanks. Lily, seriously, go," I waved my older daughter away.

She didn't have a very happy look on her face.

"Go to a club or something, live when we're still on this planet," I said and she finally left. Something told me though that she was going to her room, not out. "I don't get it. Ever since I got pregnant there's been something wrong with her…" I shook my head, trying to pinpoint the exact moment.

"You can't be serious. Your pregnancy had nothing to do with that change," Lex protested.

"I'm not saying that, I just…" I bit my lip. "Something did change and she won't tell me what it is."

"Maybe she's matured."

"She's had enough time for that."

"Well, the age of maturity is higher as we live longer," Lex answered me again.

"Oh, Mr. smarty pants, give me the baby and once we're back from the walk, you know what'll be waiting for you in the bedroom," I teased him.

"I would actually love to come with you on the walk right now, but I have that meeting…" he excused himself.

"I know. It's more important. It's about our future and the future of everyone else. Just go. We'll be fine," I gave him a kiss and left the room.

If only he would stop being so fucking stubborn and talk to Clark!

* * *

_Imra_

It was so wrong, she thought as she came to him again. So wrong. Technically, she had no right to do so. He was kind of taken. Kind of, but still… It wasn't even like sleeping with a divorcee when there wasn't really a divorce, only a break up.

Only she couldn't resist him. Maybe it was the end that was coming, the doom they were awaiting. She just kept coming back for more and when she didn't, he did for a change.

Now his mouth was sucking on her nipple, his middle finger was inside her, stroking her from within. He had such big hands that one finger was enough…

"Oh, yes… yeess…" she was wiggling on the bed, clenching around his hand, so close to coming, but not coming just yet.

Her relationship with Alex had not worked out. She sometimes thought that Jessica was a psychic, because she'd seen it long before Imra or Alex had. They'd broken up and remained casual friends. They were civil with each other, so it ended all right. Jessica and Lex weren't mad at them, no one was hurt. Everything was all right.

Except this.

Imra knew it was so, so wrong. Especially with the baby that came with the whole thing. If there was no baby… but why would she care anyway? The baby was living with her mother. The father was just seeing her occasionally. There was nothing…

"Ahh… yes…" she moaned when he stroked her one more time, but then he retrieved his finger and she protested.

He kissed her instead and she could taste herself on his lips. That was all right. That was progress. She reached down between their bodies and stroke him. He was rock hard and twitching and so, so big… She reminded herself that she would be sore again. Very, very sore. But she didn't care. She got used to that. She didn't even remember how it was not to be sore.

"I'm dying here…" she whispered as he descended with his mouth to her neck and licked her pulse.

"I can see that," he chuckled against her skin.

She stroked him again, this time rubbing the head of his cock and he grunted.

"Get in or lose it," she challenged him.

Their eyes met. He was so beautiful, she thought. Strong muscular body, dark hair, blue eyes and those lips… and those skilful hands…

She spread her legs wider so he would fit between and then, she finally felt the tip of his cock at her entrance and he sunk in all the way, causing her to gasp loudly.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked breathlessly when barely holding on.

"No, never… Even if… I… I want this…" she assured him and rolled her hips to meet his thrusts.

"Imra…" he said her name. It sounded so good when coming from his mouth. Sooo good… She was grateful that he was calling for her when they had sex, that he was seeing her and fucking her, not imagining the other one. It was always _her_.

Then he retreated all the way and slapped into her again. Her back arched as she took what he was giving her.

"Clark…" she moaned. "Clark, oh, yes… Clark!"

No one knew. Not Jessica, not Alex, not the Legion. No one from Clark's side either. And no one could ever know.

* * *

_Jessica_

It'd been three years for a god's sake! I kept on thinking while I was taking that walk. It was supposed to be time for my daughter, but she was sleeping tight in her stroller anyway, so I could think. She was getting all the fresh air she needed. Till there still was some air…

We needed Clark. We needed Green Arrow too. Where did they all disappear? Why couldn't they get past all the grudges and just come back? Three years was a lot to get over something. Even when one could live indefinitely. And Lex, that stupid arrogant dumbass I loved so much, couldn't see it either! He had my commitment, he had everything he could possibly want from life and yet, he couldn't forgive Clark! Stupid! Just plain idiotic! I nearly sputtered.

And then I almost bumped into someone, I realized. But I was fine, nothing happened really. I managed to avoid a crash at the last moment and…

"Lois," I said, dumbfounded when seeing her with little Lara who didn't need a stroller anymore.

"Oh, hi," Lois answered sheepishly and we just stood there, not really knowing what to do or say.

"Listen," we spoke in the same time and smiled to each other nervously.

"Let me first, please," I finally said. "Lois, I am truly sorry. I hope you're not as mad at me like you wer…"

"I'm not," she interrupted me quickly. "To be honest," she sighed, "Jess, I knew it wasn't entirely your fault when I hit you and I should've apologized a long time ago, but…"

"It's ok, I understand," I assured her.

"Oh, good."

"So… how are you?" I asked as I was really curious about that.

"Well, sometimes it's better, sometimes worse, just life." Lois shrugged. "You? Oh, don't tell me. Blissful life with your husband."

"Well, yes, that's pretty much it," I said, not really wanting to give her any details for fear she would feel bad. I was insanely happy - if not counting the apocalypse, that was - and Lois was not, so I would spare her talking about myself. "But we're very busy now. With the end and all…"

"Wouldn't it be the right thing to do to call… Clark?" Lois suggested.

"Well, that's what I keep saying, but… talking to Lex about Clark is the best way to start a fight and I don't want that."

"Well, I haven't talked to Clark ever since… you know."

"Really? Not even once?"

"Nope. I just threw him out. And he picks up Lara through our mutual friends, so we never see each other."

"Lois, I don't want to pry, but maybe it would be a good idea to actually see him," I dared say. "You might actually not get a chance later. Lex keeps telling me to be calm, because everything will be all right, but I have this strange feeling in my guts… Some of us might be all right, but some might not. You should really talk to him. I don't think you want him to remember you throwing him out as the last thing you did and vice versa."

"Maybe you're right. I've been working up my courage, but… nothing so far," Lois just sighed.

"Well, I could use your help in something. I don't want to go see him on my own, because then Lex will find out and you know how it is with him. He knows I would never give him any reason to doubt me, but… going to see Clark would be like choosing the other side."

"Lex can be a stubborn man," Lois admitted.

"If you see Clark," I told her, "tell him he's needed. Even if Lex doesn't see it, I do, and Clark should too. Maybe if he's the one to reach out to Lex…"

"Maybe Lex can forgive him," Lois finished my thought. "I wish it could come to me easily. I still… I don't think if I can ever forgive Clark, but he's still my husband."

"Take your time. You're the one for him. I know he loves you and he would love to at least to speak to you. I hope I'm not overstepping here…" I suddenly started for fear she might feel offended.

"Oh, no, I would've stopped you if you did. Don't worry. However private this conversation seems to be, I needed it. Thank you, Jessica."

"I'm sorry again."

"Don't worry about it. I still don't know what to do, but… maybe if Lex hadn't been split and you hadn't given in to Clark… maybe he would've found someone else. God knows I was stubborn too back then with that children army and all. And it was all for nothing."

"What do you mean all for nothing?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"Oh, you don't know," Lois realized. "Of course, you don't. Lara has no powers whatsoever and she'll never really have any. She's indestructible like her father, but she can't do much."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry," I said honestly.

"Don't worry about it. I feel it's better this way. I'd rather have a normal child that can't get hurt than having to worry about her adjusting to her powers and eventual calling."

"I can see how that's convenient," I admitted. "Oh, I've got to go. I promised Lex a little something."

"Does this something involve a bed?" Lois winked at me.

"You've got me," I told her.

"Some things never change. Good. You know, if someone had told me once I married Clark that we would have all those problems now and you and Lex would still be together and happy… I wouldn't of believed them then."

"Future is unpredictable," I agreed.

* * *

"I thought you'd be in bed by now," I complained when I found Lex in the study over some paperwork.

"Sorry, honey, I just needed to see something through."

"It's all right, I know this is more important," I said when making my way to him and standing behind him, putting my arms around him.

He leaned into me and sighed.

"You and our kids will always be most important to me," he corrected me, "but this is about our future survival."

"I know," I said into his ear and gently bit on his earlobe. "I bumped into Lois today," I said casually when circling him and sitting on his laps.

"Really?" he got curious.

So I told him about Lara's lack of abilities and that Lois and Clark still weren't back together. I didn't mention more about Clark though. I knew Lex didn't want to hear it and I wanted to get some tonight after all.

When I finished my story, I slid down to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Lex asked, looking at me with curiosity.

"What do you think I'm doing?" I retorted, looking up at him with mischievous look in my eyes and opened his fly. I released his cock and stroked him a few times, watching it growing and hardening under my touch.

"God, I want you for the rest of my life," Lex rasped, his head leaning backwards in pleasure, "the rest of my life that will never end that is," he corrected himself.

"You'll get bored with me eventually," I said, placing a kiss on the tip of his cock and then sucking gently on it when pumping him with my hands.

"That is just not possible," the answer from him came, straight and honest.

He was making me wet with that attitude, like always.

"I'm serious," he repeated, suddenly his hands were on mine that were still on his cock. I stopped pumping him and looked up into his eyes again. So intense, vivid eyes that were telling me the truth and only the truth. "Trust me," he emphasized.

"God, this is so hot," I said when looking at his hand over mine. I soon took mine away and he was holding himself alone now.

"What? Me stroking myself?" he chuckled and began doing it, liking the look in my eyes as I was watching him.

"Yes, don't stop. Let me watch for a moment and soon, I'll join you."

He kept it on, clearly amused, but also highly aroused.

"I never thought it could be so stimulating," he admitted. "But I need to come inside you." I was suddenly raised and placed on the desk. He pulled my skirt up and entered me, fucking me right away. Oh, yes, that was sooo hot!

* * *

_Imra_

She was naked. She seemed to always be when around him. And she liked it. She might as well never dress up again if only he could take her and take and take…

Imra was propped against the wall and Clark was fucking her from behind, hard. She could feel and hear his heavy balls slapping against her bottom as his enormous cock kept disappearing inside her. She didn't think she could grow tired of him. He overpowered her in every way. By his side she was small and fragile, but she didn't care. He'd given her more pleasure than she thought was possible and he was still giving her more.

His hands now raised from her hips, as he'd kept her firmly in place, to her breasts and massaged the sensitive nipples. She was coming. She was coming so hard…

…and he was emptying himself inside her.

And… there was a knock on the door.

They froze and Clark looked at the wood, x-raying it.

"Oh, god," he just said and slid out of her. "Put your clothes on and leave through the window," he told her.

"What?!" she didn't understand what was happening. "Clark, who is this?"

"It's Lois," he said and Imra's fairy tale was over.

Her prince needed to come back to his wife and to his child. She was just a lover, a mistress. She was… She felt terrible as she took it all in when picking up her clothes and going through the window as Clark asked her to.

She felt terrible and she started crying as soon as she found herself outside. She let herself let him in and that was a mistake. She always knew it was, but it didn't stop her from doing it over and over again.

She was in love with a married man and she didn't even know how she got there. She hated herself.

And she needed someone… anyone to talk to.

* * *

_Jessica_

It was nearly midnight when I heard the doorbell ringing.

Lex murmured something and turned to the other side of the bed, still not waking up.

I sighed and got dressed. Whoever that was they'd better have a damn good reason! Tess was sleeping and I'd had an exhausting sex session with my husband and I… just wanted to sleep, damn it!

I thought maybe it was Clark and that was why I went to open the door. That and the fear that Tess would wake up and I wouldn't be able to put her to sleep again this night.

"Imra," I gasped when I finally saw my guest.

She was just standing there, crying her eyes out.

"I… I did something awful," she confessed.

"Come in," I just said, opening the door wider for her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

I was sitting with Imra in the mansion study and I was already gulping down my second glass of Lex's scotch. What she was telling me was a lot to take in and I was suddenly glad I no longer had to feed Tess. I also couldn't say a word until Imra finished her story. It was too big of a shock to me. It was one thing to actually have slept with Clark those three years ago when we'd both been lost, but now… Now I just listened, completely stupefied. I couldn't believe that was the man that had used to be my friend.

"I've been sleeping with Clark," Imra had started her story, what immediately followed me asking, "Clark who?"

When I'd heard the answer, "Clark Kent," I'd gone to pour myself some alcohol and stopped speaking all together.

"I know that it's terrible and awful… I'm awful…" Imra had been sobbing. "I was lonely after I broke up with Alex and I… I didn't know what to expect from my life anymore. And every time I saw you, I saw the love you and Lex have and… I realized I'd never felt something like that… I'd never felt something as strong that would last for so long. And then there was Clark," she'd confessed.

I couldn't ask her if she had that kind of an affection toward Clark. It would be way too much to take it. I'd rather stay in the dark on that.

"Lois hadn't been speaking to him for three years and we… there was no one there in Watchtower. We were alone and we just… I don't know how it happened exactly. One moment we were talking and then we were kissing and then…" Imra stopped, apparently on the memory I hadn't been so sure I'd wanted to know…

* * *

_Imra_

_A few weeks ago_

At first she was shocked when their lips actually met, but then… then she discovered something remarkable. She discovered that she actually wanted him to keep kissing her, to put his hands on her body, to take her. It was like a fire was caught in that very moment and it just stayed with them.

Before they knew it, they were fumbling with their clothes and finally, Imra saw him in all his naked beauty. Because he was beautiful. He was like a statue of a Greek god. His body like chiseled in stone, his cock so big and so…

She liked it and in the same time she was afraid of it. She was afraid that he would hurt her. He was so big and strong, more than to any human standard, and she, even if she was no longer a teenager but a woman, still felt petite and fragile.

She went with it anyway. She wanted it. She wanted to feel anything, even if it would be pain. And there was pain. He stretched her so much she thought it was worse than losing her virginity, but then… Then, there was pleasure and him all over her. Him caring about her, being gentle with her as he kept on thrusting inside her. She adjusted. She felt him everywhere and she realized that she'd never before felt so close to someone.

He made her see the stars.

* * *

_Jessica_

I was watching Imra's face both in emotional pain and happiness while she was clearly thinking about what had happened between her and Clark.

I sighed heavily. Maybe I would have to ask…

"I… I don't want to give you any unnecessary details," she said before I opened my mouth. "I'm afraid you don't want to hear them, but… I… it was like he was my first, even though he wasn't. It was both painful and amazing and…" her voice trailed off.

I winced. Well, my time with Clark those three years ago was also painful and amazing at the same time, but I regretted it. I knew now where my love laid and it wasn't with him. It was with Lex. Lex was big too and he was giving me so much pleasure… But I needed to focus back on Imra, even if I didn't really want to.

"Maybe I'm a masochist. Just look at me! He's only causing me pain! I mean, the sex is just fantastic, but… he's married! What was I even thinking?! He is _married_! And to make it worse, he's a father of a beautiful four year old girl!"

There was silence and I drunk again.

"I'm a whore. I'm a doormat. I'm a fucking rag," Imra called herself all those awful epithets and got to Lex's bar to get herself a drink too.

"Imra," I finally found my voice, still a little shocked, if only! "Imra, you're not. You're not any of those things. You've just made a mistake and it's not like you were doing it when he was coming back to his wife and child every day," I said. I really didn't blame her. She was young. She was younger than my daughter. When I'd met her, she'd been barely a grown up. "You were used. Clark took advantage of you," I said, still not able to believe that Clark, out of all the people, would do something like that. What happened to this world? Lex was a decent family man and Clark was fucking around. That just didn't make any sense!

I needed to see Clark, I decided. Screw Lex and his prejudices! Clark needed a friend! He was dulling his pain by hurting people I cared about for a Christ's sake, and if I didn't talk to him honestly, then I didn't know who would. No one knew him better than I did, not even Lex. I was the one who had learnt Clark's secret first. At least from all the people that were still alive.

"I'm sorry I told you all of that," Imra said when sitting down on the sofa again. "I just didn't have anyone to turn to…"

"It's all right," I said and got closer to her, putting my arm around her.

"You don't hate me?" she asked. "I deserve to be hated."

"I don't, honey. We all make mistakes. God knows I have done my fair share of them. So much more than you have."

"I feel awful and I can't believe that I could just lose my judgment like that," Imra confessed.

"Well, desire always gets the better of us," I told her, because it was the truth. "It doesn't matter how smart you are and how much you try to protect yourself and do the right thing. We all lose control sometimes."

"Thank for being so wonderful. After all, I've done it all after I broke up with your son."

"I knew you two weren't meant to be."

"Well, I and Clark aren't too. We just make no sense."

"Do you love him?" I suddenly asked, because maybe I did have to. I hadn't asked that particular question yet, the question about the love of her life. I just wanted to know if she loved Clark. I'd loved three men in my life, Clark was also one of them, but two of those loves had passed.

"I… I'm not sure," she answered.

"You know, I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but… Rokk has a thing for you. Have you ever thought of him as something more than a friend?"

"Rokk?" Imra seemed surprised. "Are you sure?"

I just nodded.

"Well… I don't… I don't know… I don't know anything anymore," she admitted when sniffing.

I handed her a tissue.

"With time, you will, just trust me."

* * *

_Imra_

Imra had come home when it was technically morning and she'd just slept for barely three hours when a knocking on her door woke her up.

At first she put a pillow over her head, but then when the knocking became insufferable, she pushed the covers away and strode to the front door, opening them with a swing and…

…freezing in a sudden surprise.

"Hi, Imra," Clark said from her threshold. "I… I'm sorry for last night. I need to apologize to you and… I think we need to talk."

He seemed to still be noble and good, but from what Imra had experienced, it was just a fading part of him. Maybe the only part that he was still desperately hanging on to.

"There's nothing to talk about, Clark," she found herself saying and every word seemed to be hurting her, but she kept on going anyway. "Clark, we shouldn't have done it. You're married and I should've been smarter about it. I don't know what the hell I was thinking and…" She bit her lip. She was staring at his chest that was at the level of her eyes, because she couldn't look up into his blues. She just couldn't. She would lose all the control she had if she did. "You need to come back to your wife and your daughter. That is the right thing to do. There's no alternative."

"Imra…" he started, clearly wanting to say something, but she didn't want to hear any apologies. She didn't want to hear him saying he shouldn't have hurt her or they shouldn't have been sleeping together in the first place. It was all futile now. It was… just done.

"No, just go, Clark!" she raised her voice, finally catching his eyes. And she couldn't take that look any longer. Maybe she did love him. But nothing could happen between them again. "I want you to come back to your family and leave me alone," she finished. "Goodbye." She shut the door right into his face and then she leaned against it. He knees gave up and she slid down to the floor when crying.

How had she found herself in this place? What had pushed her to do all those things with him? Nothing could ever come out of this but pain.

* * *

_Jessica_

I woke up very late in the morning. Probably staying up late with Imra had something to do with that and I'd already been tired back then because of my husband. Now I was waking up to an empty bed. Lex must've already gone to work. Good, for once I was happy about that turn of events, because I had something to do myself. And I'd rather Lex not know about it now.

I took a shower and went to see how my baby girl was doing. I was actually surprised that she hadn't woken me up earlier. I got my answer when I entered the dining room and saw her with her older sister.

"Would you mind taking care of Tess for a few more hours?" I asked Lily after I'd eaten some breakfast and drunk my coffee.

"Sure, my pleasure."

I had the all clear to go and do what I needed to.

Lex would get over it once he found out, it wasn't like I wanted to cheat on him. I didn't. Not ever again.

I flied straight to Watchtower in hope I would catch someone there that could tell me where Clark was.

Lucky me, I thought when I entered and saw no one else but my old friend.

"Jess…" I caught him in his mid way to the door and he froze, apparently surprised to see me. "I was just going to the mansion."

"Really?" I asked, frowning. Not really a good first word to say after three years, but oh, well.

"I wanted to talk to you about… the impending doom and how I could help with that," he explained.

"Oh, so it had nothing to do with the fact that you were sleeping with my friend behind your wife's back?" I just asked. I didn't want it to come out that way, but the damage was done. Oh, boy, was I just starting a fight? So not a good way to greet and old friend. If he still was my old friend, that was. "If only I had kryptonite on me! How could you, Clark?!"

His expression changed.

"So I take it that you're spoken to Imra."

"She came to me last night, crying her eyes out. I never want to see her in such a condition ever again! What the hell did you do to her?!... No, scratch that, because I already know! What the hell were you thinking, then?!" I yelled. Not a good way to talk either, but I didn't give a damn anymore.

"Jess, could we please… talk about it instead of screaming at each other?

Those puppy blue eyes, I remembered with a sigh. How could I stay mad at him if that was my friend? The most precious one I'd left. The one I'd really missed seeing and talking to. And the distance didn't do him any good.

"All right. After all, I was going to come anyway," I agreed.

"So this is not about… me and Imra?" he asked sheepishly.

"Not entirely, although I needed to add that one to the mix." I went over to the couch and sat down, he followed my example but kept his distance, perching on the other end of it.

"I've really missed you," I said. "And I wanted to talk to you for quite some time now. I even wanted to get Lex to talk to you, but he's just too stubborn."

"I can't blame him. If he knew about…" Clark's voice trailed off, "about what I've been doing recently, he'd probably hate me even more."

"He doesn't hate you. I don't think he can," I admitted. "I think he's just mad at you. He can't quite forgive you."

"No wonder. I seduced his wife and now I'm even worse. I'm seducing young girls who don't know any better."

"We both know that Imra is not a girl anymore and she can make decisions for herself. The blame lies on both sides. It always does."

"I screwed up. I screwed up so much and I don't know how to come back from this," Clark suddenly confessed, looking at me with real pain in his eyes. "I don't know how to live in this world anymore. This isn't what my parents taught me. If they were alive… god, they would've been so disappointed in me right now."

"Hey," Here we went, I actually felt sorry for him. I couldn't help it. There was too much history between us. I reached out to him and touched his hand, "they would never hate you. They loved you. I know how a parent's love works and you should too."

"I guess… God…" He hid his face in his hands.

"Honestly, what were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? Why did you do this?" I needed to know. Nothing in this puzzle fitted. I needed to know what had prompted Clark to such a behavior. All of this was so not like him. "Have you found some red K?" I suddenly asked and I earned a bitter laugh from him.

"No, I wish," he answered and came back to his painful expression right away.

"Why Imra?" I kept nudging him. "She's not me. She doesn't have the love of her life already. I'm not even sure if she understands what the love of one's life means yet. It wasn't just sex for her, you know."

"I… I don't know," he mumbled. "All my life I've been this model of a hero. Everyone expects me to be perfect, to be the dream come true, to be the noble guy who never makes a mistake… Where did it all lead me? It's so much pressure… I have a family and… What I'm going to say to you, Jess, is just awful, but it's the truth. I can't help it. I just… I don't desire my wife anymore," he confessed. "I hate myself for that, but I can't change it. Trust me, I tried. At first I thought she must be the one, that I must come back to her because she and Lara are my family. It's what my parents taught me, but then…" He sighed and then continued, "Then I looked for excuses to destroy our relationship and I finally slept with you and… I wanted to keep her, to be with her again… I convinced myself she was the one and only and… she left and now… I don't know anymore… I don't feel it… Lois and I have this amazing girl and I know I need to keep it together for her, but god, I can't… I just… can't…" His hands were now on his head like an indication of his helplessness. "Everyone always expects me to be the perfect guy, but… I'm not him. I'm sick of trying to live up to that standard. I'm so lost…"

His confession struck me deeply. What moved me was his honesty and the fact that I could understand him completely. He was just… human.

He was shocked when I actually scooched over to him and put my arms around him, embracing him when he seemed to be a frozen statue. Finally, he put his arms around me and reciprocated the hug.

"How can you just hug me after everything I've done and told you?" he asked when I pulled away but remained by his side.

"Because as dreadful as it might sound, I… I do understand, Clark. I know how it feels not to desire your spouse. It happened to me when Lex was split. I know it wasn't his fault and that I really do love him and still want him, but… I know how this feels. It was like a nightmare for me. I didn't know what to do or how to be. The world as I knew it, the life as I knew it seemed to be over. With you and Lois it must feel even worse, because she isn't just temporarily split. Your feelings can't just come back like that. So I do understand. You might be from out of space, but you were raised here, on Earth, and that makes you human. You've always been one deep down inside and you always will be."

He had tears in his eyes.

"What are you saying? I can't just… leave my family behind."

"Whatever you do, that's your decision and I'll support you every step of the way. I just need to ask you to stop hurting Imra. In order to be with her, you would have to be absolutely sure it's something that could make you both happy, that it's something that you want."

"Jess, stop, I can't leave my family. This is not the way my parents raised me." Clark protested.

"If I didn't love Lex, I would leave him," I simply said. "But this is just me. Maybe I'm selfish, but I would like to have that kind of a relationship that… well, I have now with him, but… you get my point."

"I don't think you're selfish. Your children are both grown-ups and breaking up with Lex wouldn't hurt them."

"Actually, we have a three year old now, haven't you heard?" I asked.

"Oh, god… yes, it must've slipped my mind. Of course, Jess, I'm sorry… and congratulations… I guess."

"We called her Lutessa Lana Luthor," I informed him.

"That's beautiful and so fitting," he admitted, going back in his mind to remember those two extraordinary women.

"It helped. It healed us. What is most important, it healed Lex," I said.

"Good. I'm really happy about that… Are you… Are you still my friend?" Clark asked, looking me in the eye.

"I am and I will always be," I assured him. "No matter what. Everything that we've been through together, Clark, is just too much to break the connection we share."

"I did something awful. I don't think I deserve anything good," he argued.

"So did Lex," I just answered and Clark finally smiled to me.

"You've got that part right. If someone had told me in the past that I would turn out to be the lost one who does awful things and Lex would be this wonderful family man… I wouldn't have believed them."

"I think that way every day, you know. Not about you in particular, but about how things turned out. Where we are now and where we were then… So, what are you going to do now?" I asked.

"I guess I'll try to reach my hand to Lex and… Lois," Clark finally uttered. "She came to me yesterday."

"I know. Imra told me."

"Ah… yeah… she said she's ready to find a common ground and maybe, just maybe to talk it all out and find a way back to each other. For Lara."

"Do you want to?"

"For my daughter I will have to," Clark admitted. "I've done enough damage those past few years."

* * *

"You've gone to see him, haven't you?" I heard Lex's hard voice when I came back home.

"Excuse me?" I asked. I didn't like that tone and he knew it perfectly.

"You've gone to see Clark!" he actually raised his voice now and got up from his chair to meet me in the middle of the room.

"Lex, why are you doing this?" I found myself asking. "Why are you mad that I went to see an old friend? You know, what? I should've done that years ago! I shouldn't have listened to you and pushed him away completely!"

"Well, then maybe you should've stayed with him instead of going back to me!" he screamed.

I could just stand there, petrified. What the fuck?

And then it hit me. I should've known right away. I should have. After all, some features in people never change.

"Why are you feeling so insecure?" I asked him in my normal tone of voice and I could see by the look on his face that I hit a bull's eye. "You've always been and I don't see a reason for it. You know the circumstances of what happened between me and Clark and you know it won't happen again. You know I'm devoted to you completely. So what is it, Lex? Are you still thinking that low of yourself that you think I would choose him over you?"

"Yes, that's exactly what this is," Lex suddenly confessed and this time I was the one taken aback. "Clark has always been this perfect guy, minus the night he seduced you, of course. The world has always seen him as a hero and he is, he really is, whereas I am the bad one, the darker one. No matter how hard I try, I still am."

"Oh, you stupid thing," I said and he shot me a look. "What? Have I insulted you? Open your eyes, Lex! Stop living in the past and think hard about the now! Who's the world's greatest humanitarian? Who's the world's greatest leader? Who's a magnificent husband and father? Who's doing his very best to save all the people on this planet from certain death in the upcoming end? You are!"

He just stood there, eyes opened widely when thinking hard.

"The Lex that was all dark and brooding is the Lex from hundred years ago. You are no longer that man," I told him when cupping his face. My heart softened when I looked into his eyes and saw his touched expression. "I am here and I love you so much I think it's not even possible to love someone like this. You've managed to keep your marriage intact, you've managed to keep me by your side. We've raised two beautiful children together and we're raising another right now. Show me the evil in you, because I clearly do not see it. You might have been split, but it did not happen because of you, it just happened to you because of someone else. And those two people were not you. _This is you_," I emphasized. "I am looking at him right now. Now, look at Clark, but the Clark that lives now, not the Clark that you used to know. He's in separation with his wife for three years. He's just seen her for the first time last night. They can't raise one child together and he… Clark has done something awful," I finally told Lex.

"What?" he asked in curiosity.

"I'm only telling you this to make you realize that the roles have shifted, but I can't tell you with whom Clark's done it."

"He's slept with someone else than Lois or you, hasn't he?" Lex just sighed and I nodded.

"And he regrets it. He's just… He's so lost, Lex. I talked to him and he is so lost. He needs his friends back and he needs family. He's always been my friend and nothing more. You must know that by now."

Lex sighed again and closed his eyes.

"All right, you've got me," he finally admitted when releasing his breath. "I will talk to him about the protection of this world, but only about this. I'm not ready for anything else just yet."

"I'm not asking for more," I assured him.

"And I'm sorry that I yelled at you. It wasn't right."

"Apology accepted. Now, let's go to the bedroom and I'll show you how much exactly I'm devoted to you."

He smiled. I knew him all too well. He might've changed significantly, but he still was the same at his very core and his core was telling him that after such an emotional moment, he needed a different kind of an outlet.

Only he kind of surprised me, because he actually took me to bed and made love to me instead of just fucking me hard.

So many years and still, that man could surprise me, I thought when I was lying underneath him, holding him tight, looking into his eyes and meeting his slow and loving thrusts.

* * *

**AN**: Interested in some Clark/Imra video?

* * *

Youtube

* * *

watch?v=ClQCw5bdnMs


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

"Lily, are you all right?" I just needed to ask. I was so sick of watching her acting so strange and not been able to figure out why.

"Sure, mom," she answered when playing with Tess and watching her steps when the baby girl tried to walk like a model.

"I just… don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you're doing for Tess. I'm just… worried, I guess. Ever since she was born, you have no private life. Does that… does that have something to do with Connor?" I finally dared ask. Lily had started acting differently a few months after Connor's death, so maybe…

"No, it does not," she answered, completely surprising me with the hostile tone of her voice.

"I was just asking. Your father said to leave you alone until you figure out whatever this is for yourself, but… I can't do this anymore."

"Well, you should've listened to him. I'm fine. Really. And I don't need any help, because there's nothing to help with," Lily said.

"All right, then," I sighed. There was nothing else I could do. "I just want you to know that if you do decide to get into another relationship… don't be afraid that you'll be left alone again."

"Mom, I'm really not grieving over Connor anymore," Lily said and I could see her trying to stop herself from snapping at me. I guessed it was a sign for me to leave the room.

"If you ever want to talk, you know that I'm here for you," I added and then was gone.

I knew my daughter better than anyone else. I'd known her since the moment she'd started growing in my belly and through so many years since that… I could tell there was something seriously wrong. Unfortunately, I needed to be patient to figure what it was. Maybe she wanted to be a mom? I wondered. That would explain why she was spending so much time with her younger sister. Only if Lily wanted to get pregnant, she would have to get out there to find a man with whom she could be with first.

* * *

_Lily_

_I'm really not grieving over Connor anymore, _Lily sighed. Of course, she wasn't. It was much more complicated than that. She'd closed herself up for people, for relationships, for men and stayed in the big Luthor castle with her little sister. She couldn't help looking at Tess and seeing how beautiful a baby she and Oliver could've had…

Only he'd pushed her away. He didn't want to be with her. And he so didn't want to have a child with her. Lily knew it was stupid to even think about the possibility of parenthood, but she did it anyway. She knew that even if Oliver wanted to be with her, he would probably refuse to get her pregnant. He'd already lost one child. He probably didn't want to risk that pain again.

Lily understood it all, she did, but it didn't make her stop loving him. She wished she'd known at least if he was ok. She hadn't heard from him ever since he'd broken up with her. Her parents hadn't heard from him either and it wasn't like she could talk to uncle Clark with everything that was going on between him and her parents. Even if, that would be just too risky. He might've figured out what was the reason of Lily asking.

Now the world was apparently ending and all that Lily could think about was whether Oliver chose to save himself. He could stay here, on Earth, waiting for the end to come and that wouldn't even be technically a suicide. She so didn't want that for him. She wanted him to be alive and happy. She wanted him to find happiness even if that didn't mean it would be with her.

She would probably never know if he did.

Her life seemed to have less sense with every day. She even stopped using birth control, because knew she wouldn't sleep with anyone without love and she wouldn't stop loving Oliver either. She'd had her appointment recently for another birth control shot that would last for a year and she'd missed it.

The only thing that kept her going now was little Tess, because she needed family. She needed her older sister to be there for her in this strange and scary new world they were going to. Besides, she was the kind of a baby Lily could've had with Ollie.

* * *

_Clark_

Clark came back home, but he wasn't happy. He thought he managed to forget how it felt. Somewhere along the way he'd lost it. He had his family back. He had a wonderful daughter that loved him. The smile on her when he actually moved in was unforgettable. He had to keep it on at least for her. She deserved that. If he couldn't love Lois the same way he'd used to, he could at least love his daughter and give her everything she deserved. He wouldn't disappoint his parents now. He would again become the man they'd raised. If only…

If only he really wanted the relationship with Lois to work. He mightn't desire her so strongly anymore, but he'd made a commitment and he needed to honor it. That was what his parents had taught him. His parents had never stopped loving each other, yes, but not every couple was that lucky, Clark figured.

He just needed to do it for Lara. She didn't ask to be brought into this world. She wasn't even planned. She was an accident, but she was wanted nevertheless. Clark didn't imagine his life without her now. He wanted to give her the kind of a childhood she deserved. Even if he'd already missed on four years. Seeing her didn't make up for living with her, he knew that now.

So why did he find himself standing in front of a building Imra lived in? What was even the point? It wasn't like he could go upstairs and take her again. Why did he want her so much? Why couldn't he forget about her?

_Go home, you idiot, _he told himself, but remained on place. WHY?

_Go home, she hates you. She shut her door in your face. She told you to come back to your family,_ he tried to persuade himself.

He just wanted to see her again that one last time.

He felt like an even worse jerk when he actually used his x-ray vision to look into her apartment, but he couldn't stop himself.

It'd been a week since their goodbye and it wasn't a pleasant memory at all.

He stilled as he took in the scene he was looking at. His fists clenched, but in the same time he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

Imra was standing in the door to her apartment, kissing Rokk.

Clark wanted to fly in there and beat the shit out of him, he wanted to kill him and just…

What happened to him? When had he become such a person? He was married and Imra was not. She had every right to let him go, to hate him forever and find the kind of love she deserved.

Clark only used her and caused her pain, both emotional and physical.

And he had a wife who was waiting for him right now. And he also had a daughter.

He suddenly wondered what would've happened if Lara hadn't been conceived, but that was all futile. She had been. And he needed to be there for her.

He supersped home, deciding it was the best thing to do.

Life wasn't perfect and the only thing he had was choice. And he had made his choice when he'd married Lois.

* * *

_Imra_

Imra could feel it was wrong, but she needed to forget about Clark. She needed to find love somewhere else. She needed to get over him and…

She didn't know exactly why she did what she did. She let Rokk kiss her on their second date.

She had no idea why she'd even asked him out in the first place. Jessica told her he was basically in love with her since forever, so Imra thought that maybe she could love him too. They were already friends. They could become something more as well. All it took for her was to fall for him. At least he was already into her and he was single. There was no wife, no child, just him alone.

It was perfect.

Or it should be perfect.

So why it didn't feel that way? She thought when she suddenly asked him in and then they were kissing some more and he clearly wanted to get her to bed. He was a gentleman though, he asked if he should just go and then she was the one who said no. She was the one to kiss him again, to take off his shirt, to press her body against his. She was the one who let him undress her and take her to bed.

She let him in.

Only she.

And she hatred herself for it. But she still didn't stop. She was determined to forget.

Only when afterwards - pretty uneventful from her part - she lay in Rokk's arms, she cried when he fell asleep. She couldn't let herself to sob loudly, but she cried nevertheless. Cried for what she'd felt with Clark and what she couldn't feel with Rokk.

But she would get there. She would learn how to love him and she would learn how to come with him. She had to. Where else would she find love?

* * *

_Clark_

Clark decided to take that next step and finally went to bed with his wife. The desire he'd used to feel toward her was more or less gone, but he would be damned if he destroyed this relationship now. He owed her his fidelity. He owed her his heart and everything that came along with the package. He needed to make up for his mistakes and to become a family with her and Lara again.

Imra moved on. So should he. It was wrong to even begin any relationship with her in the first place.

"Is there something I should know?" Lois suddenly asked when looking at his troubled face.

He just shook his head. He couldn't tell her. Some things should remain secrets. It would only hurt her and make him feel better that he confessed. And he should suffer. He should suffer in silence. He deserved it.

He caressed her body and tried very hard to please her, but his mind just wasn't into that.

He entered her and did his best to make her come, but even though he did come too, it was not as fulfilling.

He was evil. He must be. What happened to him? He needed to find his way back into this love, back to this woman. He loved her. He must have, right?

Nothing in this world was simple anymore. _Nothing_.

* * *

He was woken up by a scream. A scream that was coming from his daughter's room!

Clark jumped to his feet and put some pants on, then supersped out of the bedroom before Lois even managed to open her eyes.

"Clark?" she asked, not really understanding what was going on. "Clark, what's happening?!"

"Get away from her!" Clark roared and there was a loud thump.

"Oh my god, what's happening?!" Lois screamed and quickly got out of bed, putting her robe on. She froze as she caught a glimpse of something outside the window. It was a… flying beast, she realized, not having a clue how else to call it. And it was not the only bizarre thing out there. The sky was redder too. Something was wrong, it was like everything became unstable overnight.

She finally got to Lara's room and stood still again, horrified by what she saw.

"You!" She pointed her finger at the dark-haired man that was standing near the window, sneering at Clark who was just getting to Lara that was lying on the floor.

"Hello, Lois, long time," Zod turned to look at her.

"You're… you're dead…" she said slowly, still in a deep shock.

"You saw a kryptonite arrow in my chest, but you did not see me dying," Zod answered. "I was lucky. I got to the Phantom Zone just in time… to share my body with something."

"You're possessed by one of the phantoms, aren't you?" Clark asked, standing up and holding his daughter in his arms.

"Figured it out pretty fast, haven't you?" Zod asked, still sneering. "See you around. I'll save you a seat at the show. After all, I needed to come back to see this world crumbling to its knees."

"You can't create Krypton on Earth," Clark told him, "not anymore. The sun is dying."

"I can fasten up the process then, can't I? I always loved a good destruction. Consider it your punishment. You stopped me, now I will stop all of you from fleeting this planet. Why should the human species be more lucky than Kandorians and Kryptonians were? You got your planet and you destroyed it just like we destroyed Krypton. It's time you accept the truth." After having said that, he flew out the window.

"Oh… my… god…" Lois whispered, barely standing.

"Wow, I've got you!" Clark got to her to hold her. "Are you all right?"

"What did he do to Lara?" Lois asked, cupping her daughter's face and kissing her forehead as she was crying.

"Nothing that could hurt her," Clark assured Lois.

"Still, what did that bastard do?!"

"He threw her against the wall, but she's fine," Clark explained. "Nothing can hurt her, remember? She's my daughter."

"Oh god. My baby…" Lois sobbed, hugging Lara tightly to her chest.

Clark thought it was high time he finally saw Lex.

* * *

_Jessica_

We barely woke up and took a morning shower, then sat down to a family breakfast when the door to the dining room burst open and Clark strode inside.

I froze. Did he really think that I meant _this _when I told him to reach his hand to Lex? He was just interrupting now and I could already see Lex seething across the table. Lily was just feeding Tess and she looked up, curious of what was going on.

"This brings of lot of bad memories. How typical of you to just barge in," Lex said coldly. "Is it your way of apologizing to me and trying to mend fences between us, Clark?"

"Lex, I'm sorry, believe me… I wish I could just come in and talk to you in more convenient time, but… have you looked out the window recently?"

"Excuse me?" Lex asked, frowning. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Where's your staff? No one noticed anything?!" Clark raised his voice.

"Noticed what?" I finally spoke. "Clark, you're acting like crazy. What is it?"

"They're not here yet," Clark murmured under his breath as he went to the window and clearly used his x-ray vision. There wasn't much to be seen through the stained glass. "Zod is back," he informed us.

"What?!" I asked in shock. "You can't be serious! He's dead! Oliver killed him!"

I could see Lily getting pale. She must be scared. We should all be scared, I thought.

"Oliver just shot him and I sent him back to the Phantom Zone. Believe me, Zod is back and he is stronger than ever. He's been possessed by a phantom that's keeping him alive and the whole Metropolis is already invaded! We don't have time! We need to fight and evacuate people now!" Clark informed us.

"Metropolis is invaded?" Lex asked, also getting pale.

"How can you not know?" Clark turned to him.

"It's Saturday, Clark. It's time for my family. I turned off my phone."

"How could you when you know the end is coming?!" Clark snapped at him.

"It wasn't supposed to happen!" Lex yelled. "And don't you use that tone with me after everything! Why do we always have to start off like this?!" He got up, but Alex was faster and he already left the room to come back with his tablet. "Oh god, look…" He showed us.

He showed up the city being invaded by the phantoms.

"How many?" Alex asked.

"I don't know, it can be hundreds," Clark answered. "We need to stop this."

"But how this happened?!" I asked the perfect question. "How Zod could just come back and let all the phantoms out?! There should be no way out of there! We made sure of it!"

"That's a very good question. We need to get to Watchtower. Now," Lex decided. "Alex, go to JeXCorp, make sure they start the launch sooner."

"Even if they start the procedure now, we'll still have to wait at least two days," the answer came.

"We need to gather all the vigilantes from all over the world," I decided. "We need all of them to fight… Lily, can you stay here with Tess?"

"They'll both be safer in Watchtower," Clark said, "it has a security system that can't be breached even by the phantoms."

"All right," Lex agreed. "Everyone, let's go!"

* * *

_Lily_

They'd been in Watchtower for hours now and he still wasn't there. She was worried. The Legion established contacts with almost every single vigilante and they all responded. Imra wasn't present too, but she did send a confirmation that she knew what was going on and that she would help.

Where was Oliver, then? He couldn't be dead. And they would know if he was because of the tracker device that every member of the JL had. If he was dead, it would turn from green to red and…

"I think I have figured it out," Emil spoke and there was a sudden silence in the room as everyone began listening to him. "The disturbance in the atmosphere and the Sun failing caused a break, a slot between the worlds. The portal to the Phantom Zone was already opened more than once here. It was sealed, that's true, but as everything around is failing, the boundaries once sealed can be opened again. Zod did not find his way back, he just squeezed through when the opportunity presented itself."

"How do we stop it?" Lex just asked.

"We don't. All we can do is to stay low and wait for the spaceships to be ready to take us to Earth Two. There is no other way. The phantoms will be destroyed along with this Earth."

There was silence again, but this time it fell because they all had so much to process.

"I should find Zod and kill him," Clark said, clenching his fists. "He attacked my daughter just this morning!"

"Clark, I know you want to finally get the guy, but saving people is more important now," Lois said, placing a hand on his arm. "And you're the only one with enough powers to do it right."

"We'll help," Bart and Victor offered. "Dinah and AC are in Europe, trying to save as many as they can there, but we still haven't received any answer from Oliver."

"He's in his mansion," Emil said when looking at the computer screen. "Maybe he doesn't want to fight."

"Well, we don't have time to go talk to him," Lex said. "All with no powers have to stay here. The rest, go and save as many as you can." He directed himself to the door.

"Lex, wait! Where are you going? Last time I checked you didn't have any powers!" Jessica ran to him to stop him.

"I need to get to JeXCorp to see everything through. Alex surely needs a hand," he explained.

"Then I'm going with you," she made her decision.

Lex put his hand on her arm.

"Jessica, Tess and Lily are here. You need to stay with them."

"But they're safe here. You heard it yourself, it's a fortress. Nothing can get through. I need to be by your side. Lex, I won't leave you."

He closed his eyes.

"All right then. Come," he finally agreed. Maybe he didn't want to be without his wife at a moment like this.

"I'll take you. It'll be safer that way," Clark offered, coming over to them.

For a moment there his and Lex's eyes locked.

"Thank you," Lex finally said. "And I should also thank you for warning us as soon as you did."

"I couldn't have not done it, Lex."

"I'm just sorry Zod came straight to your house and tried to hurt Lara."

"Then it's a good thing that Lara at least inherited my invulnerability."


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

_Lily_

She made up her mind. Danger be damned, she would sneak out of Watchtower when no one would see her and she would go see Oliver. She wouldn't be waiting for him to come to the ship the next morning. She wouldn't let him die.

It was actually ironic when she thought of it - and now she did have a lot of time to think. Her mother, Jessica, had been waiting for Lex to come back to life - although literary - for three years and it'd been exactly three years since Lily had last seen Oliver. She needed to see him again. Live or die, the next day would be the end. Emil's prognosis wasn't good. They were to leave the next morning, saving as many people as they could. Clark was still out there, doing his best to save whoever he could too, but there were still too many people being slaughtered by the phantoms.

"We need to find him," Lily heard another conversation between her parents. "We need to convince him to go with us. I want him to live, Lex." She knew her mother was talking about Oliver. "He might not want to fight for us, but he needs to know that we haven't forgotten him."

"Who said I…" Lex started, but then Jessica interrupted him again.

"Lex, I know you hate the guy, but we owe him this. You need to respect that. We do not ask question, we save, remember?"

Lex just sighed and closed his eyes.

"It's just… It's hard for me… after everything…" he started.

"Maybe after over a century it's finally high time for some peace, don't you think?" Jessica interrupted him in a harsh voice.

Even if her father agreed to that, Lily thought, he would change his mind in a second if she told him how she felt toward his apparently mortal enemy.

Still, she didn't understand all those grudges. What was the point of them all? What would people merit from them? Nothing but pain and fights.

* * *

_Jessica_

We were exhausted and we needed to get some sleep before the big event the next day. Still, I was sure we wouldn't be able to even close our eyes. Not when there were so many people suffering out there, not where we could do nothing more for them. I wish we could just go out there to help, but I and Lex didn't have any powers. We were just mere mortals and if we did go out there, then I was sure we would be just another couple that would need saving. It was better to stay in, especially when we were so needed to lead people into the new world.

"Maybe we're supposed to die?" I suddenly asked as we were both lying in bed in one of the Watchtower rooms. It'd been on my mind for quite some time now and I had to finally let it out. "Lex, no one lives forever. It's unnatural. Maybe…"

"No," he surprised me with the firmness of his answer. It was a simple and plain word, yet he said it like it was carved in stone, indestructible, impossible to change. "I will not let you die," he said when turning to a side to look at me. I followed his example and now we were lying with faces toward each other. "I want more time. I _need _more time with you. I… I love you too much to let you go now, when we've already gone so far."

"This is sweet and romantic after so many years and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, but… are you serious? Can we just… live indefinitely?"

"Of course, I am, just… please, let me take care of you. Let me save the humanity and lead them. Let me make that step. We can't just give up. Besides, think about Tess. There's still so much for her to see and experience. She needs to grow up, Jessica. She needs her parents. We can't let her die in this world once we've already decided to create her."

"What if something goes wrong? What if the ships don't work?" I asked, shaking. I was truly terrified. It hit me now full on. The world, everything I knew in it, would be no longer. We would have to relocate to another planet and start our living there. There were already workmen there who managed to build whole cites, they'd been doing it for years, but still… It wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be the Earth I was born on.

"Hey, nothing will go wrong," Lex assured me when placing his hand on my cheek. "Trust me. Everything's checked. The only problem would be getting to the ship itself, but we have Clark."

"Good thing I told you to talk him, hah?" I managed to smile.

Lex smiled to me too. "Well, yeah… all right, I can say you were right."

He moved closer and kissed me.

"Technically, it still is the last night on Earth," he whispered, sliding his hand down my chest and cupping my breast. "Let's make the most of it if we can't sleep."

I took him in. I took all of this in with gratitude. I needed him to take my mind off the end, to take my mind off just everything. I didn't know how to deal with it any other way.

So he entered me and kept on kissing me and thrusting into me and I met those thrusts. We made love for the last time on this Earth.

I reveled in his body. That body all around me and inside me. We were always one, always would be. Live or die, at least I knew I'd lived to the fullest by his side. I had no regrets when it came to the love of my life. None.

* * *

_Lily_

Finally, when they all went to sleep, she managed to slip out.

Victor remained on his place by the computers, because someone needed to be monitoring things all the time. He was the obvious choice when being half-robot. Lily managed to sneak past him when using the toilet excuse.

It got tricky when she found herself outside with no protection, but she realized with great relief that the night was a protection itself. The phantoms weren't attacking anyone, because there was simply no one on the streets. They were just hovering in the air like they were on patrol. There weren't as many of them either and Lily guessed that the portal was opened here, over Smallville and Metropolis, but most of them must've gone to other parts of the world by now. The was day on the other side of the planet after all.

Lily's heart was beating so fast she was afraid they would hear it. How should she know if they had good ears? Clark was an alien and… not that she was comparing him to those hideous creatures.

Finally, she reached the penthouse Oliver lived in. Lily had an inkling that he was there and if not, she had no idea what she would do next.

She entered the building, got into the elevator and made her trip to the highest floor in silence. Everything around her seemed eerie and surreal. There wasn't a living soul in the corridors and there was usually plenty of people everywhere, even during the night.

Once Lily finally stopped in front of the door to Oliver's apartment, she thought she would go into cardiac arrest. She was so afraid. So apprehensive that he…

She finally knocked, wanting to get it over with and then he opened.

He changed. Lily clearly saw the look on his face clearly. He was still that broken man she'd fallen in love with, but now it was even more obvious. He clearly still hadn't found his sense again. He seemed haunted by his past, seemed to be a shell of the man he'd used to be. At least it was a good thing he was alive, she comforted herself.

"Lily?" he asked, like he couldn't quite believe she was there. "What are you doing here?"

The fear was gone. All that was left was hope and love. She was no longer afraid of anything. She could die tomorrow if only she had that one last night with him.

"I love you, Ollie," she found herself saying and she felt elated. It was funny how things put people in perspective, she thought. She finally dared to make that step again and risk her heart being broken by the very same man, yet she needed to do it. She should've never given up on him. Only how could she know? She'd been afraid of her family's reaction, of Oliver being ostracized. Only he already was. What could be worse, really? "I can't help how I feel," she continued, looking into his hazel eyes and finally feeling alive. She could get lost in them. "I just can't." She reached her hands to him and grabbed his face, crashing her lips against his.

He was still in shock, but then he actually kissed her back, closed the door with a kick and then took her into his arms.

She was so happy she wanted to cry. She couldn't be more sure of her feelings toward him. She loved him. He was her whole world and there wasn't a world in which she could exists without him.

"Does this feel wrong?" she asked when they parted and their foreheads met as they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Lex will kills us," the answer came.

"I don't care about my father. I care about you. If he wants me to be happy, he'll understand."

"I doubt that very much," Oliver suddenly chuckled. "You really want to put me through that kind of hell?"

"Would you rather let me go?" she asked, suddenly afraid he would say she wasn't worth the trouble.

"No, I would not," he assured her when putting his hand to her right cheek. "I told you I loved you and I didn't change my mind. It's just all… too complicated."

"The world is ending. There's nothing more complicated than that," she figured. "Maybe it will put my parents in perspective," she added.

"Maybe," he agreed and kissed her again.

His hands were wandering all over her body. He missed her so much. He'd dreamt of this moment for three years and now when it finally came, he needed to keep constantly reminding himself that it was real. That she was real and she was there with him.

They went straight to bed when kissing and touching.

When Oliver finally entered her, their eyes locked and there was so much love between them that they didn't need any words for that. Lily touched his face when having tears in her eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he responded and moved, started thrusting.

They had all night long to make love. The last night on Earth.

* * *

She woke up to the red shining of the sun getting through the window.

She wanted to close her eyes right away, bothered by the rays, but the first thing she saw was Oliver's face. He wasn't the same shadow of a man from last night, he was relaxed now, his eyes no longer tortured. They were opened as he was watching her with such adoration on his face that her heart clenched.

"Good morning," Lily said, bringing her hand to his face and stroking it. She couldn't stop touching him, feeling the texture of his skin underneath her fingers, making sure this was real. Yet it couldn't be more real. If this was fantasy, the world wouldn't be ending, the world would be beginning. Maybe if she looked at it from another perspective, she could see a fresh start, a new beginning in another place.

Ollie didn't say anything. He kissed her and she could feel that something was wrong. It wasn't that she didn't like the kiss, it was that she actually could feel his emotions in it. It was yearning, it was pain, it was like he didn't want to let her go, yet he had to.

"Oliver…" she said his name in a warning tone of voice, pulling away and looking into his eyes. "No... What are you thinking?" she demanded angrily.

"Lily…" he started, but then he closed his eyes and stopped. The next thing she knew, he rolled on his back.

She supported herself on her elbow and leaned toward him.

"The ship takes off in about two hours," she notified when glancing at the clock on his bedside table, "and you are going with me."

"First tell Jess about us and then ask her if she still wants me to go with you," Oliver spoke bitterly.

Lily could've done or said a lot of things to that, but she just chose the worst reaction ever. At least in her opinion. She burst out crying, acting completely hysterical. Maybe because she actually was hysterical. She wasn't about to watch the man she loved die. She wouldn't live somewhere else where he would be no more.

"I won't go without you!" she screamed, sitting up and looking down at his face. "I won't! I can't let you die! I love you!"

He was sad but determined. He sat up, cupped her face and placed a kiss on… her forehead.

"I'm too broken to live, Lily, can't you see that? My past will always be haunting me. It won't let me live in peace. I keep feeling guilty about everything and…"

"Guilty?!" she kept on yelling. "Why?! You didn't do anything wrong! You didn't murder your family!"

"No, but I did stop loving Chloe if I'd even ever truly loved her and I hell!, I've fallen in love with the girl that my son loved before he died!"

"I don't fucking care!" Lily screamed, tears streaming down her face. She was desperately looking for something in her mind, some word, some action, anything she could do or say to make him go with her, but she wasn't coming up with anything. It was killing her. It was terrifying her. It was like the ground was disappearing from beneath her feet and she couldn't run. She was helpless.

"And then there's my history with your family! It won't end well! You know what it'll do to you? It'll break you apart! And I will be the reason! I'm no fool, Lily, I know how love works, because I can feel it! They'll tell you to choose and you'll chose me and then everyone will be suffering! I won't have that! You need to go!"

"NO!" she denied again.

"JUST FUCKING GO!" Oliver roared, getting out of bed and putting his pants on.

"Ollie…" she suddenly stopped screaming, scared by his violent reaction.

He picked up her clothes and threw them at her.

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I WANT YOU TO GO! JUST FUCKING GO!" He pointed the door with his hand.

He was hurting her. He was doing it again. He was sticking a knife into her heart and twisting it with every word that was coming from his mouth.

But he needed to. He needed to hurt her in order to save her. He was sick of his own life, of his own self. He had no one because fate had taken all from him. He just had this love for her, but he knew it was doomed from the start no matter what they would do about it.

Lily was in such a shock that she actually took the clothes and left. She couldn't stand this anymore. Her fragile heart couldn't stand the look of pure rage on Oliver's face, the look of almost… disgust and loathe.

Only she didn't know it wasn't toward her. It was toward himself.

* * *

_Jessica_

"What do you mean she left a note?!" I was yelling at Victor.

"I'm sorry, ok?! She said she needed to go to the bathroom and then she wasn't coming back, so I checked it up and… I just found this note," he pointed the folded piece of paper I was holding.

"The 'I need to get in contact with someone, but I'll be fine' note?!" I screamed. I couldn't take it. My daughter was gone. She'd been gone throughout the night and now… Where was she? Was she all right? I wouldn't survive if something…

"I'm here," I heard with a great relief.

Lily walked through the door. It didn't take much to notice that she'd been through something difficult. Her clothes were rumpled and her face was swollen from crying.

"Oh god, Lily! Did someone hurt you?!" I asked, running to her and taking her in my arms where she started sobbing all over again.

"No… not… physically… don't worry…"

"What is it, then? Is it about some boy? What happened? You can tell me." I knew there was something wrong. I'd known it from the beginning! Lily had started acting weird three years ago and she'd clearly been hurt by someone. She refused to tell me by whom though. Now as that was her final time on Earth, she needed to come back to him. I understood it. I really did, but… Who could it be? Who could there be after Connor? And what the hell had he done to her? I wanted to…

"I'll kill that bastard!" I decided. "Just tell me!"

"You won't have to. I will," I heard Lex's voice coming from behind us. "Do you have _any idea_ how much worried we've been?!" Lex walked straight to us and asked Lily. "What the hell were you doing?! Where the fuck have you been?!"

It wasn't helping and I knew it. I could see Lily sniffing and then closing herself up for us for good.

"Great job, Lex, really good parenting," I told him ironically. I knew he was overprotective of his daughter, but this time he could keep it to himself.

"Guys, I don't want to interrupt and all, but…" we heard Bart Allen, "it's time. We need to go. Whatever this is, you can resolve this on the ship. We have twenty minutes to get there and see if everyone's in."

"We have a problem!" Clark yelled when pushing the door open and striding inside.

"Clark! Are you all right?!" Lois got to him, looking at him with worry. "You seem… tired," she realized in surprise.

"I don't have my powers anymore," Clark just said.

"What do you mean you don't have your powers?" Lex hissed.

"I don't have them under the red Sun," the explanation came. "I'm useless for now."

* * *

_Oliver_

He didn't move.

She'd left about an hour ago and he still hadn't moved from his position by the window. He was still shirtless. He didn't even zip the fly in his pants. He was just watching the red sky and the phantoms flying around and…

He would die, it finally dawned on him. He would die and see his family again. He would die and… what would he leave behind? Nothing. Everything would shatter along with him and there would be nothing left. The rest, the lucky ones, Lily, would find themselves on another planet. They would all have a fresh start. A new beginning.

Maybe that was exactly what he needed. When was the last time he'd been truly happy? The answer was simple: last night with _her_. Not with Chloe. Not with Jessica. With _Lily_. Jessica and Lex's daughter. As much as it was screwed up, it felt right.

Would it be possible for them all to actually get past it? To actually move on? Would it be possible for Lex to forgive him and give him his daughter's hand?

Probably no.

Definitely no.

But even Clark made mistakes. Clark, the biggest hero this Earth had ever known. That hero had seduced his friend's wife and then spent three years not talking to his own. He'd tried to fight for Lois, but he'd tried only once. And then he'd been sleeping with Imra. Clark didn't have to tell Oliver anything, Ollie knew. He'd swung by his friend's apartment the other day, because Clark seemed to be the only one he had left and the only person that had been keeping him sane and, Oliver had seen him and Imra together.

Nothing and no one was perfect. People made mistakes. It was how they pulled themselves up again, how they got out of their messes that mattered.

Oliver had hurt the love of his life now twice, because he was afraid.

He'd used to be the hero too. He'd used to help people and now he was afraid of his own shadow. He was afraid of a confrontation with Lex, with Alex, with Jessica. He was afraid of how they would all look at him once they found out he loved Lily.

Maybe he should stop being afraid. Maybe Lily was right. Maybe it didn't matter. Love mattered and they needed to figure out a way to have that love in their life, to keep it .

Maybe they all needed to find their way back in that brave new world they were coming to.

_Brave New World, _Oliver thought and raised his head, looking at the scenery behind the window with much conscious eyes now. With sparkling eyes.

Because he realized he wanted to live. He wanted another chance. He wanted the kind of chance in love some seemed to have and others were only dreaming about. He'd got it. And he'd blown it.

He could still change it all. He could still make it to the ship.

He didn't want to die. He wanted to live. He still had so much to do.

He finally moved, got to the part of his wardrobe that had not been in use for quite some time now.

He'd stayed in when the Earth had been invaded. He'd stayed safely in his apartment, watching the world crumbling. Watching the world being destroyed by the phantoms and Zod.

And he'd done nothing.

Now it was time to change it.

He took his suit. Green Arrow suit.

Then he grabbed his bow and ran out of the penthouse.

* * *

_Jessica_

It was literary Armageddon. We were running toward the ship, because there was no one to get us there. Bart could superspeed and he was even faster than Clark, but he took our children first. I and Lex, Clark and Lois, we were still running. Side by side, hand in hand.

Until I froze, because I felt a sudden pain. Pain in my back. Pain so strong…

"No!" Lex screamed when he came to a stop too.

It was Imra that used her powers to scare the phantom away from me. I didn't know where she came from, but I was grateful.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

I had no idea. It hurt. It burnt.

"I think it's poison," Clark said. "He bit you."

"We need to get you to the ship. NOW!" Lex roared and got to me with the intention to carry me when…

There was blood pouring down from the sky. Human blood.

We looked up. All over the city the phantoms were grabbing people and tearing them apart in the air. There were screams. There was a rain of blood.

"Oh my god!" I covered my mouth with my hand when I took a good look at Lex.

He was standing frozen in place as the blood poured down on him and then a phantom dropped a skull near his feet, then another. Lex's suit was white - or had used to be - because now it was stained.

"Cassandra's prophecy..." I said, startled, terrified as everything began falling into pieces. Like a big puzzle that finally fit. "It was this… not you being evil… it was literal… and my recent dreams…"

"I did this anyway. I created the VA," Lex said.

"No," Clark denied and walked over to his side. "I helped. We did this together and we couldn't have known, Lex."

I would've been touched by this moment if I hadn't felt so much pain.

Imra used her powers a few more times as Lex finally took me into his arms and we all got to the ship.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

"What happened?!" Emil asked from the inside of the ship once they finally got there.

"Mom!" cried out Lily when standing behind him. "My god, what happened?!"

For a moment there, she managed to forget about Oliver. He'd told her he wouldn't be coming, but maybe… God, she wished he would. She was completely broken and she had no idea how to put herself back together. And now she saw her mother in a terrible shape. She'd thought she wouldn't have to worry about her family. Apparently, she was wrong.

At the entrance to the ship there was a force field that was preventing the phantoms from getting inside. They were still trying though, but kept bouncing off of it, what only made them angrier.

Then it happened. It was just a few seconds, but for all of them it seemed like a whole hour.

Lex was just handing Jessica over to Emil when a phantom managed to grab her by the shoulders with its talons and flew into the air with her.

"Jessica!" Lex roared, helplessly trying to get back, but Alex pulled him inside the ship quickly to avoid another accident.

Clark could only watch, hating himself for not being able to fly up there and get his friend. And he tried nevertheless, he tried and… nothing.

"Clark!" Lois called him from the ship when he was still standing, looking up into the air. How to help…

"Jessica!" Lex kept on screaming along with Lily's "mom!", trying to get away from Alex's grip even though he knew he couldn't do anything to save his wife. "Jessica, no!" he roared, watching as the phantom was dragging the love of his life higher and higher. "Please, no… NO!" Lex reminded himself what happened to other people, how they were taken into the air and ripped to pieces, then eaten, devoured until their skeletons dropped to the earth. He couldn't watch something like this happening to his Jessica, he just couldn't. He wouldn't go on without her. He would just get out of this ship and die with the Earth even if he had to knock Alex out in order to achieve that. Only he was Tess's father and she needed her parents…

In that very moment a green arrow stuck in the phantom's body and it dropped Jessica.

Imra was there to use her power to secure her falling straight into Clark's opened arms. He still grunted when she landed in them, but he didn't let go off her and then he immediately put her into Lex's arms who pulled her to his chest, sobbing desperately into her hair as he was hugging her tightly.

They never saw Lex in such a condition and none of them knew what to do or say, so they just kept silent.

Until Lily screamed happily, "Ollie!" and tried to jumped out of the ship. Emil stopped her just in time.

Oliver just saved Lex's beloved one, so maybe that counted for something, he thought. Maybe, it wouldn't be as bad as he imagined it would once they all found out about his relationship with Lily.

He shot a few more phantoms and when he was about to finally get into the ship, one of them flew closer and scratched his chest with its talons. Oliver screamed in pain when blood gushed from the deep wound. The phantom's talon cut through the leather like it was nothing.

"Ollie!" Lily's screams turned from happiness to terror. "Go on! Ollie! You can do this! Come here!"

It was her voice that helped him. Only her voice that got through to his raw senses as pain was pulsing through his chest, as his heart was pumping too much blood.

He turned to the ship with what strength he had left and then another phantom got into his way.

"Got it, buddy!" that was Rook who was last to get to the ship and… he was no more.

Imra could just stare at the place where he stood just a moment ago, having helped Oliver and now… now he was gone, taken by a phantom so big and so fast that they had no chance in ever getting him back.

It was Clark who was conscious enough to reach for Oliver and pull him in and then the door was shut and the ship was taking off.

"Ollie…" Lily sobbed when crawling to him as he was lying on the floor. She put his head on her laps. "Ollie, please, you have to pull through…" she kept on telling him and stroking his face as he was just lying there, tired and in pain. His eyes locked with hers though and he never wanted to let go off her ever again. He, at least, made it here.

Lex and Jessica were still in shock after what happened to them and Lex was still pressing her to his body, not able to pull away. He'd almost lost her and he never wanted to get through something like that ever again. He would never lose her again. He wouldn't let that happen. He would be… no more, he would just stop existing if she died.

She was safe now, but he couldn't forget that dreadful feeling of near lost, that fear. His body kept on shaking and his eyes were opened widely in shock.

Imra was standing still, being in a deep shock herself and then, it finally dawned on her. She'd just lost her best friend, her new lover. She didn't love him, she wasn't sure she even could, but still… the memories of their friendship were stronger than the last moments they'd had together as a potential couple. She just burst out crying.

"Imra…" then there was the sound of his voice and his arms around her and the strong beating of his heart right next to her ear.

She clang to him like she was clinging for dear life and sobbed into his shirt as he was stroking her head.

Then she woke up. She remembered what he'd done to her. He was also the reason of her distress. He'd hurt her, broken her heart, used her and then he came back to his wife and child.

She pressed the palms of her hands against his chest and pushed him as hard as she could. He staggered backwards, barely keeping his balance.

"Get away from me!" she screamed at him and put her arms around her chest, hugging herself.

"What's going on here?" Lois asked, looking at the two of them with a strange expression on her face. "Why… Clark, why… oh my god!" she finally figured it out. "Tell me I'm wrong!"

Clark met her eyes, but he couldn't say anything. He was tired of trying to make everything work. He was tired of making excuses. Tired of lying, of just everything. Surprisingly, all he wanted right now was to make sure Imra was all right, so he made a few steps toward her with his opened arms.

"I told you to get away from me!" she yelled at him again and then she found solace in the arms of her second friend, Garth.

Clark's arms slumped to his sides and he took a seat.

"Never do something so stupid again, all right?" Lily made sure when still holding Oliver. "Emil, will he be all right?" he asked, desperate for a positive answer.

Emil finally registered what was happening with them as another shock with Clark and Imra passed. Lex also finally managed to pull himself together and Jessica was now supporting her back against his chest. They all looked at Lily and Oliver.

Just in time to see them kissing.

"What the…?!" Lex stopped. It was all too much for him like for one day, hell, he should try ten minutes!, and the planet hadn't even been gone yet.

Lex, barely holding his anger inside, gently placed Jessica on a cot as there were a few inside the ship and then he walked over to Lily and Oliver.

"You…" he started, rage boiling right beneath the surface.

"Please, step aside, Lex," Emil asked him when placing his hand on Lex's arm. "I need to see the wound. Could you please take the next cot?" he turned to Oliver.

Oliver barely stood up, all with Lily's help. She put her hand to his wound, doing her best to stop the bleeding.

Lex ignored Emil and just took a swing, hitting Oliver straight in the jaw.

"Dad!" terrified Lily yelled at him.

"Lex!" that was both Emil and Jessica.

Oliver would've collapsed if Clark hadn't held him in time.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Lex?" he asked him in an accusatory tone. "He's injured!"

"What the hell is wrong with _you_, Clark?!" Lex retorted. "Seducing women when you already have a wife?!"

"Stop that! Both of you!" Lily came in between them and Clark helped Ollie to the cot. "He just saved mom!" Lily pointed her lover.

"This is about what is going on between you and him!" Lex sputtered. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he turned back to Oliver who was now pressing his hand to his jaw. His mouth was bleeding. "Have you been sleeping with _my daughter_?! Is that why she came home this morning _crying_?! Do you have _any idea _what we've been though once we saw she was gone?!" he kept on screaming.

Jessica could just watch it all and she still couldn't believe. It was nearly impossible. Oliver and Lily? When had that happened?

_Three years ago, _something told her.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, forgetting about the burning pain in her back and shoulders for the moment. "This has been going on for _three years_?!"

"Mom, it's not like that…" Lily started. "We love each other."

"Wait… You WHAT?!" that was Lex.

"We were having an affair, yes, but Oliver broke up with me. He wanted to let me go, because he was afraid of… pretty much this," Lily sighed when trying to explain.

"He shouldn't have made you fall for him in the first place! You were his son's girlfriend for a Christ's sake!" Lex screamed. "And your mother… she actually slept with the guy! Don't you know that?!"

Jessica needed to admit that Lex was right. Even if she wanted the best for her daughter, even if she wanted true love for Lily, this was still appalling and she didn't like it. She didn't mean Oliver when she wanted Lily to be happy. Although she did wish the best for him too. Just seeing them together…

"And if it was only about sex!" Lex continued, pointing at Oliver. "This guy loved your mother!" He turned back to his daughter.

Lily just took Oliver's hands and then Emil finally began examining his wound.

"You're lucky, there's no poison," he informed when Oliver winced at the pain.

"Lex, I know how this looks, believe me," he spoke in a calm voice a moment after, trying to get to Lex, to make him understand. Maybe it wasn't the right time for this, but it was taking his mind off the pain. "This is exactly why I broke up with her in the first place…" His eyes shifted to Jessica. "And then she came to me, told me she couldn't live without me… and I… I know she can't because I, apparently, can't live without her. I love her."

"Ok, that's just it!" Lex interrupted and took a swing at Oliver again, but Clark stopped him, pulling him away. "Fuck! Let me go!" he tried to get away from the alien's strong grip.

"No, he's injured because he's just saved Jess! You should be grateful to him!" Clark said.

"Yeah, after he screwed my daughter behind my back!"

"Lily is a grown up and she can handle her life just like she can make her own choices," Clark continued.

"Thank you," Lily turned to him.

"Lex, I want you to know that I wanted to stay and die, but… I couldn't. I realized I can't just waste this life. I need to make some sense out of it…" Ollie started again.

"I don't care about your crappy speech! You still did something awful!" Lex screamed, pointing his finger at him.

"I didn't want him to die, dad!" Lily yelled and kept holding onto Oliver's hand. "The world is going to end soon and I need him. I am _sure _he is the one!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Lex put his hands to his head like he couldn't comprehend this situation. "Connor was! And I'm sorry, Lil! I'm sorry I killed him! And I'm sorry I killed Chloe!" he turned to Oliver. "But this relationship of yours won't make up for that!"

"It's not about them. I never felt this with Connor, trust me," Lily said, being adamant.

"And I never really…" Oliver stopped, suddenly afraid that Clark would hit him for a change for talking like that about his dead best friend.

"I know," he said instead to Ollie's astonishment.

"What?" Ollie just gaped at him.

"Chloe wasn't happy before her death. She… she loved her life, but she wasn't really happy with you. I saw it. There was something wrong with your relationship at the end, wasn't there?" Clark asked. "Even if you hid it well. I tried to help her, maybe convince her to look for love somewhere else… but she died before I could."

"I can't believe you!" Lois snapped at him. "You bastard! How could you even think…"

"Lois, shut up!" Lex growled at her and she shot him a murderous look, but did shut up. "This is not about you or Clark or Chloe. This is about my daughter and the guy I hate!"

"But why do you hate him so much?" Lily asked. "Why, dad? It's because of what happened in that stupid boarding school? It was literally a century ago! Everyone makes mistakes when they're young, but Oliver got better. He's a wonderful man now and…"

"Will you just fucking stop?" Lex asked her, hating her still holding Oliver's hand and looking at him with that loving gaze.

"No, I won't!" Lily screamed. "The world is about to end and you can't let go of an old grudge?! I love Oliver the way you love mom, dad. Deal with it!"

Lex's face actually reddened with rage what was a noticeable change from the pale white.

"Love is all that matters, dad, it's all we really have, because…" She pointed the window and the Earth that was getting smaller and smaller as they flew away from it, "nothing you actually own lasts long."

"I think I can actually agree with that," Oliver said. "Look, I wasn't planning on falling in love with your daughter. It just happened and I'm sorry for it, but it still happened. We can't take it back."

"Oh, you weren't planning on it? Will I ever get rid of you, Queens?"

Oliver closed his eyes in pain and Lex actually felt like a jerk for a change.

"I'm sorry… I didn't… I didn't mean to…" he started. Way to go, he thought. Now he felt like a murderer that he actually was and the guilt was rushing right back.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Lily said to him.

"Lily… Lex… just… please, stop," Jessica spoke, her voice feeble and weak.

They looked at her and…

"Jessica, oh my god, honey…" Lex got to her, forgetting about his daughter's problem completely. "What's happening?" He cupped her face and ran his thumb just below her eyes. "Is this… blood? Is she crying blood or…?" he asked Emil in panic.

"I am crying," Jessica said, looking at Lex's hand with the blood on it and she started panicking. "What's happening to me?!"

"It's all right, it'll be all right," Emil said to calm her down as he took a good look at her back. "I'm pretty sure it's the poison from the phantom."

"Can you cure her?" Lex asked, his whole attention again focused only on his wife.

"I don't know. If we get to Earth Two in time… We can't use VA now, because it works only under the yellow Sun and Clark already has no powers, so that one goes down."

"Please, do _anything_, I need her," Lex asked Emil, feeling like he could just explode from emotions that day. It was hard on him, especially when he was a man who preferred to close himself up for such feelings or just not let people see them. The only one who truly saw them all was his wife. The wife that he could lose… again.

When would it all end? Maybe Lily had a point after all.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine," Jessica assured him when touching his face and he closed his eyes in pleasure he derived from her touch. "I'm not leaving you. I'm staying. I'm strong and I will survive this. We will survive it all." She looked at Lily and Oliver who were watching them, but stayed close to each other.

"Lex, just look at them," Jessica whispered to him, pointing at the couple who now was lost in each other's eyes. "I see something and it pains me to say it… but maybe what they have _is_ real. I never saw that between Imra and Alex, nor Lily and Connor. I think they might really be in love the way we are."

Lex just closed his eyes and buried his face in Jessica's stomach.

"I don't know if I can handle this, honey," he confessed.

She stroked his head, as always loving the texture of his skin. "I'll get better and then we'll deal with it all, ok? Maybe she was right about the fact that love and each other is all we really have."

"Guys," after a while Emil finished with dressing Jessica's wounds and came over to the window. "I think… I think we got away just in time…"

They all looked in the same direction and there was silence. No one talked, no one even thought. The Earth was crumbling right in front of their eyes.

The Sun was burning it. There was no barrier, just heat. Just flames. They couldn't hear anything from the inside of the ship and from such a distance, but they could imagine the screams of dying people and the animals being torched alive.

A big heat wave swept it all. It was so strong it didn't even stop for a moment when crossing the oceans.

"We need to go faster!" Clark suddenly yelled. "The impact… is too big!"

"No problem!" they heard Victor's voice through the intercom. "Yeah, guys I heard all of you arguing, but I rather watch the last day of our planet than actually join the fight. So, are you all good now? You should be grateful that you survived it! You shouldn't jump to each other's throats!, ya know?!"

Oliver was feverish and Lily was holding him as she was whispering something into his ear. It made Lex seethe, but he let it go for now. He could do nothing more anyway. And maybe, just maybe, Victor was right.

"Lily, I need to... I need to apologize for what I... said to you, for how I yelled at you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I never would," Oliver whispered with difficulty.

"It's ok, I know that," she assured him. "Just focus on getting better, ok?" she said, smiling to him, but it was a fake smile. She was scared. She was scared that she would lose him.

"This will be a fun ride," Jessica said sarcastically when glancing at the couple, at her husband and at Imra and Clark who were sitting as far away from each other as possible. Lois was quiet as she was holding her daughter and kept looking through the window like she was in some kind of a trance. Dinah was taking care of Tess at the moment and Jessica was really grateful for that.

"And it's gone," Lex said.

The Earth was just a flaming ball now. The live as they knew it was over.

* * *

They thought they got away. They thought they would be safe now, but they didn't know one thing.

In the baggage hatch, there was an additional passenger. His name was Zod.

* * *

**AN: **To be honest, at first I wanted to kill Oliver. I wanted him to save Jessica and die in the process. Then I came up with Lillie, what is basically the pairing of Oliver and Lily and I... I just couldn't kill him. It's the one character that at some point I always plan to kill, but then I can't go through with it. I just love him too much: )

I also didn't plan Clark and Imra together, I planned for Imra & Rokk, but the idea just appeared in my mind and I went with it:) It's quite fascinating for me to write him as the man who makes so many mistakes for a change. He's just following his feelings, but he's hurting as he thinks he's failing his parents and his family. I guess he needed to feel more human for a change.


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15**

_My name is Jessica Luthor. I am a wife of a remarkable man, a friend of true heroes, a mother of three wonderful children. I used to live on Earth._

_ Now the Earth is no more. We needed to relocated to another planet. Only 40 percent of the whole population survived._

_ It is true what they say - nothing but people matter._

_ Only as simple as it is - we never fully understand it._

_ Maybe now we have a second chance. We cannot jeopardize it. We need to learn to live according to this rule. Once we have got this chance, we cannot waste it. _

_ It is now or never._

_ It is the brave new world._

* * *

_Lily & Oliver_

Lily was beyond elated when he finally opened his eyes.

He'd closed them once they'd landed on Earth 2 like he'd needed to make sure the woman he loved would be all right before he gave up.

Only Lily never wanted to lose him. She never wanted him to give up on his own life and now, thanks to Emil, he had a change at surviving. His wound was patched up and he would live.

Lily couldn't quite understand why the VA wasn't administered to any of them, but Emil assured her that he was working on it.

As soon as Oliver was stabilized, Lily didn't even care about the VA anymore, she just wanted him to survive. Even if it turned out that the cure wasn't working on the new ground, she would be happy to live one human life with her lover.

Finally, he opened his eyes and was welcomed by her beaming smile.

"Welcome back," she said when placing her hand on his cheek and stroking it gently. He leaned into her touch.

"Are we saved?" he just asked.

"We're on Earth 2, so yes, we are saved," she answered.

"God, I thought I was dying," he confessed when releasing a sigh a relief. "And that would be pretty anticlimactic since I decided I wanted a shot with you."

She just smiled brighter in response.

"Lily, I need to apologize for how I treated you," Ollie suddenly said in a serious voice when raising himself up to a sitting position.

"I was actually waiting to hear that," she admitted.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I promise I will never do it again. I just… I wanted you to live… even if I chose differently."

"But you still changed your mind just like I knew you would," she answered. "What matters is the new life we have on this planet, Ollie. I forgive you for everything you've done on the previous one."

"I feel like I need to spend a whole eternity making it up to you," he confessed.

"I can live with that," she laughed.

In that moment Emil came through the door and directed himself to Oliver to check his bandages,

"What happened to the VA?" Lily asked out of curiosity. "I thought you would administer it to Ollie as soon as we land."

"Well… you would have to ask your father that one," the mysterious answer came. "All I can tell you so far is that Oliver will live and there's no need to panic. Although I do recommend seeing your mother."

"My mother?" Lily got scared. "What's happening to my mother?!" She and Oliver shared a worried look.

* * *

_Jessica_

I wasn't getting better and I knew it. I was slowly dying and there was nothing they could do for me. I was holding on though and I wouldn't leave my body that easily. I wouldn't leave this new world. I certainly wouldn't die. Not now when we were finally here. Not when everything worked out.

Not when I had a growing daughter and another who apparently fell in love with the wrong man. Only I'd done the very same thing, hadn't I?

"Lex…" I wheezed as I was talking with difficulty. "There's something…" I started.

"Shh… please, don't try to talk. It'll be all right. Emil will find a solution on time. We already have something, but he needs to run some tests. You'll be fine. You'll live," he was telling me as he kept on stroking my hair.

Ever since we'd gotten here, he hadn't left my side. It was a completely new world and he was the leader, but he chose to stay with me. People understood though. They didn't want to see him breaking as they trusted him, they followed him. They already needed to get used to a new planet, it would be a little too much for them to choose a new ruler again. For now, they listened to Clark who was talking to them in Lex's behalf, because they trusted Superman.

"I just need you… to forgive Oliver," I continued anyway. "Nothing matters, Lex, nothing but us. People. Love. It's all real when… when the rest is not, when the rest… we lose eventually."

"You want me to actually congratulate Lily on her wonderful choice of a life companion?" Lex asked sarcastically.

"No, I just want you… to respect her choice. I realized… Lex, when we got together… they all said it was a mistake. They all warned me. Even Clark. And look where we are now."

Lex sighed and closed his eyes. He seemed to do that a lot lately as if it could protect him from the images he couldn't erase from his head. Images of Lily kissing his enemy, of Lily telling him she loved Oliver Queen.

"Lily was right. Old grudges have no meaning. Not really. Why do you hate him so much? You keep finding new reasons and they all have no sense."

"Jessica, I…"

"It's true," I interrupted him and he let me, because I was already so weak. I had no strength to argue with him. "First it was the boarding school… then the vigilante act and… mine relationship with Ollie and… and then… you two were ok for quite some time until I saved his life and you hated him again. I would never leave you for him and he never really loved me. He was just lost. He said so himself."

"Yes, and I could have forgiven him, I even did when I… when I felt guilty for killing his family, even if that wasn't really me and… now he's fallen for my daughter. After he pined for her mother."

"You had a problem with Connor too," I noticed. "I don't care anymore. Lily is happy with Ollie and we'd both seen her when she wasn't through those three years… Lex, tell me you did not see how miserable she really was. She acted like her life had no sense anymore."

"So you actually accept their relationship?" Lex just asked.

"I don't think we have any other choice."

"We?"

"Yes, we. It's our daughter, our family. This is a new life and a new planet. The past is in the past, buried. We start fresh. Ollie did safe my life, you know. If Lily hadn't gotten him to come, I would've…"

"Please, stop," Lex asked me. "I can't go through this again. I can't even talk about it."

"Then you need to accept him. And you haven't even thanked him for what he did. Isn't it better to have me by your side? To have a daughter who's happily in love than the other way around?"

"Mom!" Lily just walked inside the room with Oliver, but he stayed in the door. "Mom, how are you feeling?" she asked when making her way to me.

"Good," I lied. Lex knew that, but maybe I fooled Lily. Judging from the look on Ollie's face, I had a chance only at fooling my daughter. "We've talked with your father and… Oliver," I said to him. "I do accept everything and I thank you for saving my life. You've always been a wonderful friend and even if this relationship with Lily is something I would have to get used to… I'm glad she's happy and you're happy. Maybe you need each other. At least she's not dating anyone I know nothing about."

"Jess, you know how much this means to me," Oliver told me when finally daring to actually come inside. "I promise I will never hurt her. I will take care of her."

"You better," Lex scoffed at him. "Because if in a hundred years you'll suddenly decide that…" he started.

"Lex, that was with Chloe and I knew pretty fast that it might not work. With Lily I am sure it will," Oliver interrupted him.

"I hope so," Lex said to both his and Lily's astonishment. "Otherwise, I'll kick your ass from here to the place where Earth used to be. And I also need to thank for you saving my wife. For that alone…" Lex raised from his seat by my side and reached his hand to Oliver. "You saved the woman I couldn't exist without. I really appreciate it."

We were all touched. This was nearly a historic moment. I was only sorry that it took so many tragedies to make people understand their behavior.

Then… there was something wrong… I… I was…

"Jessica!" Lex turned back to me and paled. "Call Emil! NOW! I don't care about his tests! He needs to carry out this procedure!" he turned to Oliver.

And then, there was only darkness.

* * *

_Clark_

"Clark!" Lois called him from across the hall.

He was very busy now, flying around, helping people settle down, giving speeches, covering for Lex, giving people hope… And he was exhausted, but he was also happy in his own way. His life might've been screwed up completely, but he had a purpose again. People still saw him as a hero and he needed to become one again, for them. He had his powers back as the Sun was yellow, although it seemed smaller and its rays were lighter as it was really young. It wasn't the Sun they'd used to know on Earth and this planet, even though it resembled the Earth structure, wasn't Earth either. As Clark was flying, he saw that. There was more oceans and they were scattered in a completely new order. The land was more green though and he thought Oliver would like that. The city was ready, but the workmen still worked on raising more buildings. They wouldn't make more than people needed though, the more green lands and animals, the better and healthier the world was.

And now Lois caught him. He was nearly afraid of what she might say.

"Clark, I'm tired of yelling at you," that one he didn't see coming.

"You…" he started, but then stopped. He was too shocked.

"Let me speak," she told him. "I've done a lot of thinking and…" She was shaking, "and I need to let you go."

"Lois, I'm s…" he started, his guilty mode on.

"Don't say you're sorry, please." She raised her hand to keep him quiet. "This obviously isn't working and I know we have a daughter together, but I'm a modern woman and I rather she have a father that loves her than a house in which there isn't really any love between her parents. She'll understand. She's already got used to it and…" Now Lois started crying. "I need to let you go, Clark. I want to be mad at you, but now… now I'm just sorry. I'm sorry this relationship hasn't worked out."

"Lois, I…" he tried to say something again.

"I already said I don't want to hear any more apologies! I know that you don't feel the same for me anymore, but you still came back. For Lara. And for that I am grateful, because you proved that you still are the good man that I once fell for. But we can't fool ourselves and keep pretending everything's going to be all right. It's not just one life we have and it'll probably be a whole eternity, so spending it without feeling for each other… It'll just make us miserable. So this is me letting you go."

"Lois, I truly am sorry," he finally said, feeling sad as well. Feeling like a failure. He'd used to think once that life could be so simple, that he could find a girl, marry her and love her forever. He'd never anticipated _this_.

"I know, me, too. Take care of yourself, all right? Also, do me a favor and be happy. You need to be. If you're going to be the hero you are, you need a normal life, too, to balance each one. Goodbye, Clark." She placed her hands on his chest and then she turned around and walked away.

This wasn't the fairy tale he'd used to imagine with her. In a fairy tale he would stop her and tell her that he'd made a mistake, that he did love her still and wanted her back. But this was reality and he really didn't want that life with her anymore. And it didn't make him a bad person, just one that had failed at something. Just… human, he realized.

* * *

_Lois_

"There you are," she heard a very unpleasant and very familiar voice. She froze. Didn't really know what to do, where to run and if she should run at all. If Clark had his powers back, he surely did, too.

"Zod," she said his name and turned around, facing him. "What are you doing here? You should be dead." _Play it calm, just be calm, _she kept on telling herself.

"I am here to kill you," the answer came and her face whitened in fear. Her heartbeat accelerated and the only thing that she could think of was her little daughter. She needed to survive for her and for her only. She had nothing else left anyway. "I want to make Kal-El suffer," she heard.

"No!" Lois screamed and started running. She needed to make it. She needed to…

He was faster.

* * *

_Clark_

She told him to go and find his happiness. Lois had set him free, given him a choice. She wanted him to take what he wanted for himself. And surprisingly, there was only one person in his mind once he focused. It was Imra. He had no idea when it happened, but he'd fallen in love with her. She'd healed something inside him, given him happiness, a reason to go on. It was sudden, it struck him like a lightening, but in the same time it seemed to be more intense than what he'd ever felt with Lois. Maybe it was like Oliver had said about Chloe. He'd loved her dearly at the beginning, but then something changed. Maybe it was the price to pay for eternity, the price to pay for so many years of living. Lily found her love late, too. Alex still hadn't found it. Lex and Jessica had always seemed to have it, but again, they'd been through so much it must be considered a payment.

Clark knew what he wanted now and he would get it.

He found out her new address and walked to her home. She made him feel like a human and he wanted to be one tonight. With Lois he'd always been the hero. With Imra… he was what he'd always wanted to be, although he was mature now and would never give up his powers in order to truly be human.

He now stood in front of her door. It was the same, yet different like every single thing on this planet. Everything except them, people. There would be so much of getting used to for them, but they had to do it. This was for a longer stay than before. This planet was new. It was like living on Earth in the era of dinosaurs, not that there were here, too, but they still needed to secure the city with a force field in fear for animals that were so different, but their autonomy was, yet, so similar.

Finally, Clark knocked on the door.

Imra opened and stilled, surprised to see him.

"Clark, I told you to…" she stared.

"I know, but there's something you need to know," he interrupted her.

"I don't need any more of emotional trauma. My best friend just died a violent death and I… I feel fucking guilty, because I used him while he loved me and apparently, I could never love him back!" she screamed. "So go! And leave me alone!" She tried to close the door into his face again, but he stuck a feet in.

"I had a talk with Lois and she… she let me go, Imra. This relationship… it just wasn't working anymore and we decided it would be for the best if we split up and go our separate ways in search for happiness."

"So what?" Imra scoffed at him. "You came to me for sex, because you're freed?"

"No, that is not what I came here for," Clark denied. He wished he could've told Imra that he would be a free man, a divorced man soon, but… what did a little piece of paper saying that he was Lois's husband mean anymore in this world? It wasn't like they took the papers with them. They all burnt with the Earth. True marriage was paradoxically of Jessica and Lex, not Clark and Lois. "I know I hurt you and I am sorry for that, but you need to know… I was lost when we two started… seeing each other…" he continued a little awkwardly, not sure how to call their relationship.

"Nice euphemism," she cut in again, folding her arms on her chest.

"Would you please just listen to me?!" he got angry. "I came back to Lois only because I thought I owed it to Lara, but Lois made a few good points herself and… anyway, I realized something, Imra. I knew that before, but I never let it go to my head, because I knew it was all futile… but it's true and I can't change how I feel. I love you. I have fallen in love with you. I want no one else but you," Clark finally confessed, looking her deep in the eye. "So please, forgive me. Let's start over."

"Let's?" she repeated, her eyes getting glassy. "You can't be serious!"

"Imra…" he made a step toward her.

"NO!" she screamed. "You won't hurt me or humiliate me again!" She pushed him when using her powers and he flew backwards, just enough for her to close the door.

He couldn't believe that just happened. Didn't she love him? Jessica assured him that Imra felt for him, so why…

He could just stand there, gaping at the closed door. His heart was broken and the pain was so severe and so new to him that he started wondering if he'd ever had his heart broken before. He thought he had, but apparently he hadn't.

* * *

_Jessica_

I woke up.

There was no pain, no burning feeling in my back, no fever. I could breath, I could hear… everything so well. It was like someone had given me a completely new hearing that was so sensitive to all those noises.

Then I heard it.

"_Zod"_

_ "I am here to kill you"_

And her neck snapping…

"NO!" I sat up on the bed, screaming. My eyes opened widely and… my vision seemed to be better, too, I noticed.

"What? Honey, what is it?" it was Lex who just got to me. "Tell me."

"It's… Zod…" I finished when the door to the hospital room swung open and Zod walked in. "And he killed Lois," I informed, still in shock. In a moment the pain would kick in. The lost. The…

"Yes," Zod smirked at us. "Finally, a revenge on Kal-El and you," he pointed me. "I will make you hurt so much you wish you were dead."

It happened so fast that I barely registered it.

One second Zod was standing there, the next he was running into Lex, his fist clenched, hitting my beloved one straight in the heart and throwing him at the opposite wall where he… _No,_ I realized in an even bigger shock when the wall actually crumbled and Lex found himself in the next room.

"NO!" I screamed. "NO! LEX!... You killed him!" I turned to Zod, hardly able to believe my own words. Lex couldn't be dead, I thought. No, it was just too much. I was too raw already. Too many losts… and the Earth… the world… and…

Then something struck me and clearly Zod thought the same thing - even if he was a superalien that just threw Lex at the wall, was the wall supposed to crumble like that? It was nearly impossible to do it to a living being and…

And Lex was standing in the hole, completely all right. He didn't even bleed.

And I just opened my eyes even wider, struck with another shock.

"Jessica, help me," Lex asked me.

"Hah?" I just gaped. Help with what exactly? I wondered.

Lex was by Zod's side in no time and he was strangling him. "Grab him! Help me!" he called to me again.

I didn't understand any of this. I should've been dead, yet I was alive and well. Was this some new kind of VA? I ran to them, but I found myself right by their side and I didn't even know how. My feet didn't seem to even touch the floor I was so fast.

I grabbed Zod when Lex still held his neck and… he just broke it. He literally broke it.

There was an inhuman scream and two phantoms got out of Zod's body, ripping it apart, feeling through the window.

That was why when Clark walked in and took in all that happened

I could just stand there, looking at Lex, then at Clark. What the hell? Was this some bizarre dream I had? Or maybe I was dead?

"The fuck…?" I just murmured under my breath.

* * *

_Clark_

He might not be in love with her anymore, but he still heard her when she needed help. His body was so used to reacting to her calls that right now, as Imra pushed him away, he heard Lois. He heard Lois calling for help. He could nearly feel her fear. She was afraid of something. She didn't want to leave her daughter.

Only when Clark finally reached the hospital, the attacker was already gone and all that was left was Lois's body lying on the floor.

He still had hope that she was alive. She needed to be for Lara. She couldn't be dead!

When he finally reached her, he saw that her neck was broken. If her opened eyes and turned head weren't enough, an X-Ray he did with his eyes was. Her neck was truly broken and there was nothing he could ever do to bring her back. His daughter just lost a mother.

"NO!" Clark screamed as it dawned on him. "NO!"

Then he heard other screams from the room nearby and he reached it, only to see Zod's body being ripped apart by two phantoms that flew away through the window.

"Oh my god, Lex!" Jessica yelled and Lex took her into his arms. She was shaking, still couldn't understand anything that had just happened, but she reveled in the feel of his body around her. She'd almost lost him again and she needed to make sure he was there alive and healthy.

* * *

_Jessica_

We never expected this.

We never expected to bury one of our best friends in the first day we got to this new world. Yet, we were doing it.

Lois Lane-Kent was dead. Killed by Zod. How Zod had managed to sneak on board we still had no idea. We just knew he was finally gone. The war had been won, but there were casualties.

I remembered them all, from the very beginning. Every single person I'd ever cared about: Lana, my first unborn child, Lex (although he'd come back to me), Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Tess, Chloe, Connor, Rokk, Lois… the list seemed to have no end. But it must end now. We would make sure of this.

I, Clark and Lex would. Soon, I was sure the whole world would follow us. There were still two phantoms that had escaped, but we would hunt them down and destroy them.

There was no way of creating VA under this Sun again. I'd found out from Lex when he finally told me about his secret project to preserve life. VA would deplete the Sun again, give us half the time on this planet of the time we could've had.

But there was another way.

A better way.

We were indestructible now.

Whatever Emil had been working on on Lex's behalf was 'the suit', made thanks to Clark's and Lara's blood samples and the DNA taken from the meteor infected, also from the Legion. The suit that was like a second skin or our own new skin, the suit that was giving us powers nearly similar to those of Clark. None of us could fly or see through solid objects or shoot fire from our eyes, but we were strong, we could superspeed and nothing could ever hurt us again. Lex had apparently come up with that idea when Lara had been born without powers, but with invulnerability. It was a miracle child, the child that saved us. There was a reason to why she was born that was also giving a meaning to Lois's life that had been so foolishly wasted by Zod.

I looked up from the grave and hope entered my heart.

I looked at Clark who stood, holding his daughter close to his chest, hugging her now. She lost her mother, but I was sure she would have the best dad a child could ever hope for.

Oliver and Lily were happy together, unbreakable. They seemed right for each other and I finally stopped worrying.

The most important relationship yet, was here, right when I was standing. It was me and Lex. Hundred plus years and still together, still in love, still desiring each other.

This was a brave new world and a new chance. We wouldn't waste it. I was sure of it. There would be no one else to die. The darkness was over.

It also came as a revelation to me: no more prophecies. We'd thought it'd been over before, but it truly was over just now. And we survived.

* * *

_Clark_

"Clark," he heard Imra's voice as the crowd by Lois's grave - the very first and probably last one in this world - dissipated.

"Imra," he turned to her with obvious hope in his voice.

She just shook her head sadly at him.

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your lost," she said when coming closer and looking at him.

"Imra, I… this doesn't change any…" he started desperately, but she shook her head again.

"Everything's changed, Clark. Here, on this Earth I have a new chance and I won't waste it. I just wanted to say how sorry I was for you, especially for Lara, because she lost her mother. Goodbye."

"Imra!" he called after her again, but she was already gone, using her newly developed superspeed to find herself as far away from him as possible.

When she finally entered her house, she bent in a half and started crying. The pain was almost too much. It began in her heart and then shot out in all directions like it was affecting every single of her organs.

Only she couldn't come back to Clark. It wouldn't be right. He'd hurt her way too much.

She needed to forget.

Find a way to live on this new planet.

A way to live without him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16**

"Fuck! That was… fucking amazing!" Jessica breathed out as she collapsed back on the bed which squeaked pretty dangerously.

"Careful there, love, or we might break it again," Lex chuckled when settling himself right next to her.

"We basically have superpowers, but we're still out of breath! How is that possible?" she asked and then took another deep one as to calm her heartbeat down. She was overly hot, deliciously seated and so, so tired. Sex when being indestructible was on a completely different level. It was amazing. She truly felt like she was flying and doing it with Lex only made it all that much better.

"How many times it was, actually?" Lex just asked when turning on a side and looking at her. "Five?"

"Maybe six," she said. "I lost count. And I really love how you can recover so fast when having those powers."

"Then you have your answer to why we are so exhausted," he said smugly.

"You'll be the death of me," she sighed ostentatiously.

"That'll be hard since you can't exactly die," he teased her.

"You know, after so many years together… after a whole century… I never thought I would yet have to say that this was the best sex of my life."

"Glad to be at service and just wait till the next time."

"Uhm…" Jessica just hummed and then she was soundly asleep.

* * *

"I really thought I lost you there for a moment," she confessed when Lex finally woke up the next morning. "You know, when Zod attacked you."

She'd been watching his sleeping posture when supporting herself on her elbow.

"I really thought I lost you, too," Lex said and reached his hand to caress her cheek. "But we're together as always. Remember that nothing can ever break us apart?"

"Yes," she nodded when leaning in for a kiss. "I do."

"And that will never change. I promise you."

They lay there for a while, just quietly enjoying each other's presence until she finally spoke again, "I feel all icky. Shower?" she suggested.

"Only with the special benefits," Lex smiled mischievously and not even a second passed when they were in the bathroom, using their powers to get there.

* * *

"Lex… do you have a moment?" Clark asked tentatively when knocking on the door to Lex's new office.

Lex raised his head from the papers he needed to look into. He was slightly surprised by this visit.

"I guess you can. Come on in, Clark."

Clark walked inside and closed the door behind him.

"I just… I'm sorry, Lex. I'm sorry for everything I've put your through, for what I've done to you. I just… You seem to be the only person I can talk to now," he admitted.

"Why me? Don't you always run to my wife when you need an advice?" Lex asked in a voice that didn't divulge any emotions. Clark couldn't know the ground he was standing on right now and that was to the Luthor advantage. As always.

"I can't talk to Jess about my feelings anymore. It just doesn't feel right."

"Oh, I see," Lex noticed and gestured toward the chair on the other side of his desk. "Sit. Talk."

"Lex, I…" Clark started again, not really sure what he should do. Lex seemed hostile toward him and he couldn't really blame him.

"Clark, I forgave you," Lex suddenly said to his astonishment. He must read his old friend's face perfectly. Clark was never good at hiding his emotions after all. "This is a new world, a chance at a new life. I choose to leave everything that happened on the old one behind. You did help me, you did save us. Without you we wouldn't have been here."

Clark was silent for a moment. He didn't really know what to say to that. He still didn't know what to think either.

"Shoot," Lex encouraged him.

"It's… It's all my fault, isn't it?" Clark finally asked. "I killed her. I killed Lois. She was struck by Zod because he thought she was the love of my life."

"And she apparently wasn't," Lex sighed. "And just like that, we're back at the start. Do you remember how often were you coming to me for an advice about Lana?" He nearly smiled wistfully at the memory.

"I do, but I was just a silly kid back there," Clark admitted.

"Clark, you did not kill Lois. Even if Zod knew you two weren't together anymore, he would still kill her because she was Lara's mother, the mother of your daughter, she was one of us, our friend. Lois meant something to all of us and I'm really sick of you feeling guilty about everything. This is just life. Stuff happens. Bad stuff. All you can do is to learn how to move on. You can't keep thinking that it's your fault, because it's not."

"I'd never thought I would be able to stop loving her," Clark confessed in a silent voice, avoiding looking at Lex.

Still, Lex heard him anyway. He had a good portion of his friend's powers now after all.

"Stop dwelling. Think of this world, of your future. Is there someone else? Just, please, don't tell me her name is Jessica, because I swear I'll…"

Clark actually laughed this time and Lex laughed too. If they could joke like this, everything between them could finally be settled and they could be friends again.

"It's Imra. But she doesn't want me."

"And since when do you give so easily?" Lex asked the perfect question. "Lana was never the one for you, but you still hadn't been giving up on her for years."

"How many times a person can get rejected before something breaks in him forever?" Clark asked.

"I don't think she can reject you again. She's just hurt, because… seriously, Clark, I would never expect _you _to act like you did!"

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"You know, I think Jessica is right. You truly have become one of us. A flawed human."

* * *

"I talked to Clark today," Lex informed when coming back home to his wife and daughter.

"That's funny, because I actually talked to Imra," Jessica answered. "She's in a bad shape, but she's still determined to move on and have a life for herself without Clark."

"And how is that going?" Lex asked.

"Not so well."

"That's what I thought. You know, Clark actually came to me for an advice."

"And advice? Really?" Jessica's eyebrows elevated. "That's new."

"Everything in this world is new," Lex said.

"Oh, how observant of you!... But coming back to Clark, I really think you two can be really good friends again. And you will only benefit from him being friends with Oliver, you know."

Lex rolled his eyes.

"This dinner is tonight, isn't it?" he just asked in exasperated voice.

"Lex, it's time to put old grudges aside and be civil. This man is in love with your daughter and they're very happy together."

"Yeah, yeah, I got that and trust me, I'm doing everything I can to be understanding. For Lily's sake. She's been through too much and partially, it was my fault."

Fifteen minutes later Lily and Oliver arrived.

Lex didn't know yet that his patience would be once again tested, because he would soon find out that he would become a grandfather.

"A grandfather?! I'm too young to be one!"

"Dad, you're more than a hundred years old," Lilly noticed and they all burst out laughing. All except Lex.

Not only he had to work hard to accept Oliver, but now he would have to add that his and Lily's blood had actually mixed and soon, they would bring a Luthor-Queen to the new world.

It was, indeed, a brave new one, he decided as he raised his glass.

* * *

He knocked on her door once again and once she opened it, she wanted to close it right away.

"No, wait!" Clark stuck his feet inside so he could say what he came here to say. "Imra, please."

"Stop bothering me, Clark. Let me go and just… leave," she said. Her voice sounded harsh, but he could tell she was fighting tears and her feelings for him.

"Imra, I'm so sorry… I know I used you, but I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I truly love you."

She forced herself to look away from his pleading eyes and she bit her lower lip.

"I just can't, Clark, I'm sorry. It's been too much for me."

"Is it about Lois? About how she died? Is it about Lara?"

"No, it's not! You know I wouldn't have anything against Lara being my…" Imra stopped herself just in time, because she was bombarded with images of having a family. Of having what she'd always wanted to have. If she really got together with Clark, it could be another century before they would be able to get pregnant and she could have his child right now, in the person of Lara. She was more alike Clark than Lois and…

"No," Imra shook her head. "Don't come to see me ever again."

Clark's features saddened so much that her heart clenched at the sight. He was truly devastated. He had a broken heart. And it was all her doing. Still, he'd broken hers first, she decided and slammed the door into his face. It was raining and he was just standing there, on her porch, drenched, but she still closed the door on their relationship.

As she did so, she leaned against it and closed her eyes in pain.

She wouldn't have the family she wanted.

Would she be able to love someone else like she loved Clark? She wondered.

He was walking away forever. There was truly not coming back.

"Oh, fuck this!" she cursed and opened the door, decided in the split of a second to actually act on her feelings. To listen to her heart. It was what Jessica had done and she was so happy now. Of course, there were bumps in the road, even in such a perfect relationship like her friend's was, but that was just life. The trick was to deal with it all _together_.

Clark finally turned from the closed door and made a step forward and then stopped again. His legs felt like jelly and he was afraid he would fall down. He, who had powers, who was Superman. He didn't care about the rain. It didn't bother him at all that he was getting wet. All he cared about was Imra. And clearly, Imra didn't want him anymore. He'd clearly hurt her too much…

He'd never seen that one coming. He'd never thought when he'd first met her those hundred years ago when she'd traveled back in time to save him and Chloe, that he would end up loving her more than anything else.

He made another step, going forward like a blind man when he heard a click and the door opened again.

"Clark!" she called after him and ran into the rain. She didn't slow down. He turned around, his face with so much hope and disbelief in it that she wanted to just hold him and never let him go. He reached his arms to her and she jumped on him, her legs going around his waist and staying there as he held her in his strong arms.

"Clark," she whispered straight into his ear. "Clark, I love you, too. I'm sorry… you've just hurt me so much… Please, please, promise me you won't do it again," she cried and held on to him for dear life.

"I promise," he said, a little dazed. Did this just happen? Did she just…

"Good." She smiled and kissed him, pulling his face down toward her.

They were both shaking from emotions, both standing in the pouring rain, but none of that mattered. They were alive and they had a second chance at love.

Soon after that, he speeded to her home in her still in his arms.

He was still holding her when he took their clothes and finally, he was buried inside her. He was home. And this time they were making love.

* * *

"You're worried, aren't you?" Lily asked Oliver when they arrived at the garden of the new Luthor mansion. Lex and Jessica were throwing a party to celebrate life and to gather all their friends. Their plans were to throw one every year.

"About what?" Oliver asked when pressing her body closer to his side.

"Of becoming a father again," she said. "I know it, Ollie. And you know I didn't plan to get pregnant."

"Of course, I know this," he assured when stopping and cupping her face so she could see the truth in his eyes. "If so, I should feel honored that you decided to be with no one but me and since we weren't together, you didn't get the annual birth control shot. I understand."

"But you're worried about having a child again and… losing it, don't you?" she asked with care.

"Lily…" Oliver started.

"It's ok," she reassured him. "Oliver, think of this world we're living on right now. Our child will be safe here. Nothing will ever happen to it."

"I know, but still… I know these fears of mine have no grounds," he admitted.

"This time we won't lose anything," she emphasized. "This time we are strong. We're invincible."

Oliver smiled to her and kissed her softly on the lips.

"How it happened that I got so lucky?" he asked.

"I don't know. Happiness just is."

Lex was watching her daughter with Oliver from afar.

"What are you think about?" Jessica asked him when getting to him with Tess in her arms.

"Ah," Lex sighed. "Maybe you were right. Maybe they're really good together."

"Wow, I wish I could've recorded you saying that!" Jess laughed. "It's a big step up for you, Mr. Luthor."

"Oh, is that so, Mrs. Luthor?" He sent her both a loving and teasing look.

"Hey," she suddenly pointed something in the distance. As Lex followed her sight, he spotted Clark with Imra and Lara. "I guess they've worked everything out."

"Well, I helped when telling Clark to fight for her," Lex said, very proud of himself.

"Hey! I talked to Imra, too!" Jessica scoffed at him. "Don't be so cocky!"

"You'll see later how much cocky I can be," he promised her when leaning toward her and whispering it into her ear.

Then there was a scream.

Before they noticed, little Lara was held by Clark and the phantom - the phantom that had escaped Zod's body - was lying dead on the ground, killed by Clark.

In the same time, another one attacked Imra and Clark couldn't get to her on time as Lara ran away from them.

Everyone around had powers, but only Clark was a Kryptonian, only he had such a reflex developed and only he was used to using his powers to his advantage without hesitation. The rest was still fumbling around, careful not to run into anyone, not to hurt anything.

Imra was safe though. The person who saved her was now floating in the air, her long blonde hair flapping in the wind.

"Kara?" Clark asked, nearly in disbelief.

It'd been a hundred plus years since he'd last seen his cousin. Since Jor-El had told him he would never see her again. Guessed Jor-El was wrong. He'd also never predicted them moving to another planet after the Earth destruction.

"Kal-El! I missed you so much!" Kara was finally on the ground and now she was hugging her cousin. "So much has happened! I heard that Earth was destroyed and I needed to find you! And you have a daughter and… oh, hi to you," she turned to Imra who just stood there tentatively, watching the scene.

"Kara, thank you so much! You saved the woman I love," Clark just said to his cousin.

"I guess we really know when to organize a party," Jessica turned back to Lex.

"Oh, yes, we do. And this one will be remembered."

He didn't know yet how right he was.

Because Kara's arrival not only saved Imra. A year later, on another annual Luthor party, Kara and Alexander Junior Luthor would announce their engagement.

**The end**


End file.
